


Cactus in the Valley

by liziscribbles



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: F/F, M/M, Mentions of homophobia, Soap Opera AU, background Irinea, established Gladnis, i would say i'm sorry but i'm kind of not?, kind of slice of lifey, pretty much everyone's gay, slow(ish) burn Promptis, this is kind of turning into As the World Turns or something
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-09-12 18:27:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 35
Words: 112,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9084307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liziscribbles/pseuds/liziscribbles
Summary: Modernish college soap opera??? AU.Noctis is the heir to a corporate empire, in college to hone his skills and take over when his father retires.  Regis is a little bit (a lot) oppressive, and wants to shape Noctis into exactly what he needs to be to keep business booming and survive in the shark-infested corporate world.  Noctis secretly has other desires, but hasn't been bold enough to chase them... until he meets a clumsy blond freshman boy who turns his world on its head.AND THEN SO MUCH OTHER CRAP HAPPENS.  YOU GUYS, THIS MONSTER GOT SO, SO FAR OUT OF HAND.





	1. To Start Anew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
> _i'm breathing, i feel my heart beat,_  
>  _but it's been a while since I've been alive._  
> [to start anew](https://open.spotify.com/track/0YGzsfUBgNkcfw46TvYbxj) \- the perishers

Autumn meant many things to many people. To some, it simply meant the changing of the leaves and the weather growing colder. To parents, it meant a bit more free time, as their kids were returning to school. To kids and young adults, it meant _going_ back to school and, for the most part, being bitter about it. But for Noctis Lucis Caelum, there was absolutely no bitterness involved in the situation. As he pulled into the parking lot, he stepped out of his car and took in the sights of the familiar campus around him, he couldn't help but smile a bit.

Here, he was free. Or, fre _er_ , at least.

The leaves on the trees hadn't started falling yet, but the colors were changing from shades of green to vibrant oranges, yellows and reds. The tree on the quad where he always sat last spring to do his homework, which was usually a bright green, had faded to the brightest orange that Noctis had ever seen, and it made the smile on his face grow even wider.

He turned to look at his car, at the way the back was packed, and breathed a happy sigh. All around him, people groused about moving into their dorm rooms. That was the _only_ thing about his college experience the year prior that he hadn't cared for. But now, this year, he didn't have to deal with it. Because he had other plans set up.

This year, through copious amounts of shameful begging, and saving _all_ of the money he'd earned from working over the summer (which, in the end had been pointless since his dad had insisted on paying himself), he'd convinced his father to let him get an apartment near campus rather than having to use the dorms with the other students. After he stopped by campus to grab his finalized class schedule from the new Dean, it was off to finally see the apartment his dad had picked out. The conditions still irritated him a little bit; his dad had to pick the apartment _and_ his roommates, but he had to hold onto hope that the roommates that his dad picked for him wouldn't be terrible.

Picking his messenger bag up from the passenger's seat, he shouldered it and started toward the administrative office. 

The sun, still enough to warm him despite the fact that it was early in September, beat down on him. Shrugging off his jacket and carrying it over one shoulder, he took off in a half-jog to get across the street. Soon, when winter started, he'd be wishing for the warmth. Winters in central Lucis tended to be far, _far_ more brutal than they were anywhere else, but after the chill last year, he'd opted to be prepared for everything this year. Soon, he'd go from shucking his coat in lieu of a t-shirt, to being freezing despite being in four layers. So, he'd take the sun and warmth while he could.

As he neared the administrative office, he glanced down at his watch to ensure that he wasn't _too_ late. Office hours were only from ten to four before the year started, and the last time he'd looked the clock in his car it was nearing three o'clock, he was a little bit nervous about making it on time. Not nervous enough to start running, but nervous enough to speed-walk. If he was too late, he was too late, and he'd have to go back the next day. He was eager to see what his apartment looked like, anyway.

His watch read 3:35, though. So, if he managed to avoid _too_ many more distractions, he could make it with a little bit extra time to spare.

Before he could flick his head back up from his watch, he felt a smack against his shoulder, then heard a series of thudding sounds behind him. Whirling around, he was surprised to see a boy with messy blond hair tumbling to the ground, his books splayed between Noctis' feet and where the boy lay a couple of strides away.

"Sorry!" he shouted from where he rolled over to pick himself back up. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see-"

Noctis shook his head and crouched down, offering a hand out to help the other boy up from where he lay. "It's okay," he insisted, stopping the apology in its tracks. "I wasn't watching where I was going, anyway."

The blond reached his hand out, accepting Noctis' hand and pulling himself to his feet. "Still, I didn't see you either." He shrugged.

"Are you alright?" Noctis asked, releasing the boy's hand and letting his own hand fall to his side.

Once he was on his feet, he leaned down to start picking up his books and nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm good. I've done way, way worse to myself, so it's okay." He grabbed a book that had slid all the way into the grass of the quad and opened his backpack, sliding it in. "Probably should've been using my backpack, too, but I was in a super hurry because I hadn't bought _any_ books yet." He shook his head. "I wasn't even remotely prepared." Swiping some dirt off of another book, he slid it into his backpack.

"Oh, I know how you feel," Noctis chuckled. "Last year, I ended up buying half of my books on my way to my first class."

The blond smirked a self-deprecating smirk and shrugged. "Hope you're better prepped this year, because they've got a ton of back-orders. This isn't even half of what I need, but it was all they had."

Noctis grinned. "Yeah. My dad wouldn't let me get away with _not_ being prepared this year," he pondered aloud, as he crouched down and picked up the last book—Photography and the Art of Digital Printing—and wiped some dirt and grass from the cover. "I didn't even know we had photography courses here," he mused with a little smile as he handed the textbook back over.

Nodding, the blond boy slid the last book into his backpack, before shrugging it over his shoulder with a grunt. "I mean, they're not exactly the _best_ known classes here," he added with a little chuckle.

"Yeah, I thought you had to go to Altissia for things like that." Lucis U had always been better known for its sciences and business courses, but there were definitely hidden gems in there, if you dug around enough. Like the music class that Noctis had managed to sneak into his free period, or the art class that he knew a couple of his friends were excited to start. "I know we have a good music program, so I probably should have assumed."

As the blond boy picked at a loose string on the bottom of his t-shirt, he shrugged a shoulder. "There are way better courses in Altissia, yeah, but it's way, way exclusive. Have to have straight A's or be a scholarship kid to get in there," he contemplated with a huff, as he looked back up at Noctis.

Noctis shrugged one shoulder. He wasn't a scholarship kid, no, but his tuition for all six years that he'd need to study here was paid in full already. He fell into the straight A's category, too. Maybe he could have been offended, maybe he _should_ have been offended by being lumped into a category that the blond boy so obviously saw as negative. But the blond couldn't have known. And Noctis knew, too, that he was one of the lucky ones. A few of his other friends had the same luck, but there were several other people on campus who could barely afford to pay their tuition and had to go without to make it happen.

So, he didn't necessarily get offended by the tone. Instead, he just shrugged. "Lucis U is pretty exclusive, too. Just in different fields," he pointed out. "More business oriented than art oriented. Not that the artsy people are missing too much." Business classes were full of stuffy people learning stuffy things, and it made Noctis want to break through the window and leave every class he was in. "You don't know dull until you've sat through Language and Context of Business class."

The blond's eyes—a piercing shade of blue—widened with horror. "Who would do that to themselves?!" he asked incredulously.

Noctis raised his hand sheepishly and laughed a self-deprecating laugh.

Shaking his head in disbelief, the blond huffed out a breath. "You're made of way stronger stuff than me, dude," he insisted. "I probably would have snapped, stood up, broken through the window and left. Ran through the streets screaming a warning about how Death From Boredom resides within, or something."

For a second, Noctis blinked a couple of times, amused by the fact that this guy had essentially quoted his thoughts, but he just shrugged and smirked. "The road to success is littered with the bones of people who did exactly that," he mused.

With a laugh, the boy scratched his head. "Sounds like a pretty disastrous road, if you ask me," he commented. "Also a pretty dismal definition of success." He brushed a few errant bits of dirt from his jeans and then stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Quietly, Noctis shrugged his shoulders and raked his teeth along his lip. "Yeah, maybe." No, not maybe. Definitely. But that was beside the point. In the lull in their conversation, he took a glance down at his watch and blinked a couple of times. "Oh, damn it! I'm supposed to meet with the Dean!" And he'd spent the past who knew how long standing here, talking to a stranger.

"Doesn't his office close in like, ten minutes?" the boy asked in surprise. "You better get going!"

With a nod, Noctis took off in a jogging run in the direction of the Dean's office. Waving and glancing over his shoulder, he called out, "yeah, sorry! Maybe I'll see you around campus!" he called out.

From jogging to a proper run, Noctis could finally see the Dean's office appearing around the corner. It occurred to him when he rounded the corner, that he forgot to ask the blond for his name. Internally cursing himself, he made a note to do that if he ever saw him again. Slowing to a jog again as he neared the office, he bounded up the stairs and pushed the door open. After a brief conversation with the receptionist, he headed down the hall, wiping his brow in relief. A few minutes to spare, but he'd made it.

Raising a fist, he knocked on the door frame, outlining the open door. A man that Noctis could only presume was the Dean of Students sat, gathering up papers and putting them in his briefcase. The man had dark red hair, brown eyes, and an oddly casual air and expression about him. Especially compared to the last Dean.

"Excuse me, I'm-"

But he didn't get to finish. "Master Caelum! It's a pleasure to finally meet you," the man announced, his voice dripping with an odd tone that Noctis had only ever heard from his father's business associates.

Noctis waved off the proper address, and nodded as he stepped into the room. "Noctis, please," he insisted.

"And my name is Ardyn Izunia," he greeted in return. "I had the pleasure of speaking with your father on the phone last night. He seems to expect great things from you, my boy. As do I."

It was a compliment, Noctis knew it was, so he nodded a grateful response. "Thank you, Dean Izunia. I'm just glad I made it on time." He chuckled awkwardly, and watched as the man stood and breezed across the room.

"You _did_ cut it rather close. And call me Ardyn. Please," he insisted, placing an arm around Noctis' shoulders and leading him toward the center of the room. There was a layer to his tone that Noctis generally attributed to people who were trying to schmooze their way into his dad's good graces. But he ignored it. The old Dean had been much the same, and was a man that Noctis wasn't even remotely sorry to see go. He just had to hope, somehow, that this man was a little bit less obnoxious about it. "Now, I assume you're here to pick up your finalized schedule."

With a nod, Noctis glanced at Ardyn's hand clasping his shoulder. "Please," he answered.

He slid his hand off of Noctis' shoulder and moved toward his desk. "What luck! I just finished fitting it all together for you. There was a bit of confusion in regards to a music class you were signed up for. Your father wasn't aware of it until I told him. He asked that I change it to Applied Economics, but that was easy enough to do," he explained, pulling a piece of paper from his desk and holding it out in front of him.

There was a protest forming behind Noctis' lips, but he didn't let it escape. Instead, he accepted the small sheet of paper when Ardyn held it out and looked it over desperately, seeking any sign of the music class that he'd been sure to sign up for. But sure enough, right between Accounting and Statistics... was Applied Economics. He barely held back a sigh, instead raising his head and glancing at Ardyn. "Thanks for... clearing that up," he strangled out.

"Of course, dear boy. I hate to cut this short, but I have a meeting with some alumni in about fifteen minutes, so if you don't mind?"

Noctis blinked a couple of times and nodded, folding his schedule and setting it in his pocket. "Sure. Thanks again." Much as he tried to mind his manners and keep the gratitude from falling short, he didn't quite make it. And he'd wished beyond wishing that he hadn't hurried to get here today.

Ardyn placed a black fedora on his head and tipped it, before saying, "I'm going to keep a very close eye on you this year, my boy. I'm expecting great things, as I said," with a smile a bit too wry for a Dean of Students. And with that, he turned to his secretary, gave her a casual wave, and left the building.

Suddenly, the good mood he'd been cultivating all day had crashed its way to the ground. He shook it off, pulled in a breath, and started back toward his car to seek out his new apartment, and his new roommates. He had to hope that the day was still _somewhat_ salvageable.

Or, at the very least, the term.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't sure if this had been done before, but I wanted to take a crack at it!


	2. All Alright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
> _and it's all alright. i guess it's all alright._  
>  _i got nothing left inside of my chest, but it's all alright._  
> [all alright](https://open.spotify.com/track/6EFU0IwPcOdWMkWwyWnrEo) \- fun.

As it turned out, the apartment more than succeeded to make Noctis' day turn around. He'd expected it to be in more of an actual apartment building, but it was definitely _not_ an apartment. Instead, his father had gone so far as to rent out an old firehouse-turned-apartment. It was small for a firehouse, but for a living space for a small group of college kids, it was massive.

At first, when he was standing outside the building, he had to check the text message from his dad several times over to ensure that he had the right address. He did, though, and that stunned him even more. On the outside, it definitely didn't look like an apartment. It looked... exactly like a firehouse. Just, without the firehouse sign on it, and without any fire engines. Eyes wide with surprise, Noctis parked his car in the garage that undoubtedly used to be used for fire engines, and got out. The garage was mostly empty—aside from an oddly familiar black car parked to the left of his—and every sound echoed in the mostly open space. The car door shutting was far, far louder than he expected it to be, and the sound his footsteps rattled him to his core, but he was too stunned by his surroundings to care.

When he finished ascending the stairs and opened the door to the apartment itself, though, the surprise only doubled.

He'd been expecting many things. A four bedroom apartment with neighbors in the same building as him. An apartment in a gated community. Something like that. Whatever it _was_ that he expected, though, this definitely wasn't it. 

It was definitely way, _way_ larger than the space Noctis expected to live in, and already completely furnished. As surprised as he was, he also wasn't surprised in the least. His father tended to throw money around when it came to things like this. If Noctis was going to be living there, it was going to be top shelf, no matter what. While it wasn't what he expected, or even really what he wanted, Noctis had really no reason to complain since it was actually... kind of cool. Before him, in the high-walled main room, was a full kitchen—a stove and oven, a fridge, a dishwasher and a trash compactor—basically anything he could have needed. To the right, and separated by a large island counter, was a fully furnished living room. A black leather couch with matching chairs and glass dining room table, along with a giant screen TV. The glinting, metallic fire pole in the corner of the room that led down to the floor below didn't escape his attention, either. Noctis wasn't sure if furnishings were part of the deal he'd made with his dad... but he figured that they were one of those unspoken terms that his dad always seemed to put into things. This time, he figured, it was a good thing.

The whole right wall was decorated with red-lined windows, where Noctis could see practically everything going on outside. People walked the streets, in and out of the various shops that lined them, all lost in their own worlds. He touched his fingertips to the window pane and looked from the ground to the sky, trying to convince himself that it was real. It was definitely real. It had to be.

And if this was what the front area looked like, he could only imagine what the bedrooms looked like. He shouldered his messenger bag and walked down the hall to what he could only assume was the bedrooms. Halfway down the hall, though, a door opened right into Noctis' face. Before it even registered, he peered around the door, only to be face-to-face with Ignis Scientia, one of his longest and closest friends.

"Specs?" he asked eagerly. "You're one of my roommates?"

It probably should have clicked sooner. The car downstairs was definitely Ignis' car, and of _course_ his dad would want Ignis to be one of his roommates. Noctis adored his friend, of course, but he was one of the most responsible people that Noctis had ever met. Even when they were kids, though Ignis was only a couple of years older than him, he always ensured that Noctis did his schoolwork and ate well.

With a gentle smile on his face, Ignis nodded. "Indeed. I was fully prepared to go back to the apartment we'd been renting, but your father contacted us and asked us to come here to live with you," he explained.

Noctis was about to respond, but Ignis' phrasing caught his ear. "Us?" he asked.

Ignis nodded. "Gladio is here, too, of course," he explained. "I sent him to the store to pick up a bit of food for dinner, but tomorrow after I finish with my classes I'll have to do some proper grocery shopping." And that was just like Ignis, honestly. First day in an awesome apartment like this, and all he was thinking of was making sure that everyone ate well.

Gladio's presence wasn't surprising, either. Gladiolus Amicitia's father was Noctis' father's most trusted friend, and Gladio had always looked out for Noctis like a sibling in his own no-nonsense way, ensuring that he was as tough as he was smart. The perfect counter to Ignis' kinder manner of friendship. Or at least that was what his dad always said. As far as roommates went, Noctis had absolutely no room to complain.

"Oh, cool," Noctis responded, instead of cracking a joke at Ignis' expense. "So, is it just the three of us, then?" he asked. "Dad kept saying that the apartment was a four bedroom."

In the corner of his mind, he assumed that Gladio and Ignis would be sharing a bedroom, but as much as _he_ was fully aware of that, his dad likely didn't know it. Still, even with the three of them each being given their own room, it still left one room unaccounted for. So, was it just an empty room, or had his dad come up with a third roommate for them, too?

Ignis shook his head no, though. "Iris will be staying with us as well. She's at the store with Gladio right now," he explained.

That made perfect sense, of course. Noctis and Iris had grown up together, and she'd been a year behind him all through school, so naturally she would be a good choice for a third roommate. Plus, being Gladio's little sister, it provided the perfect opportunity for her big brother to look out for her in her freshman year. "Bet Iris is thrilled to be here with us, though," he mused with a sarcastic little grin.

"Actually, she is," Ignis countered. "The whole ride here this morning, all she talked about was how excited she was to see the apartment, and how she wanted me to teach her to cook. I think she's far more ready start the term than anyone else on campus."

Noctis wanted to say that he was surprised, but Iris had always been like that. No matter what happened, she was always eager to face whatever came up. Life opened up to her wherever she went, and Noctis was sure that whatever happened for her here, she would face it head on and succeed. "Classic Iris," he mused, leaning against the wall.

Ignis laughed a little, and nodded his head. "She was thinking about trying out for the women's hockey team, last I heard, and I would wager that she's talking Gladio's ear off about it for their whole walk to the store." A fond smile crossed his face. Ignis and Gladio were practically married, and _had_ been for a few years now. It probably felt like Iris was Ignis' little sister, too.

With a smirk, Noctis mused, "little Iris, the hockey star. You and Gladio there at every game."

Shrugging one shoulder, Ignis nodded his head. "Probably. Just like Iris comes with me to all of Gladio's baseball games," he retorted.

"And she goes with Gladio to all of your Chess Team matches." Noctis did _not_ know how Ignis could play college chess, or how Iris and Gladio could _go_ to college chess competitions. "You guys're like a little family." His tone was teasing, but he didn't mean it negatively at all. He adored all three of them like his own family, too.

Likely knowing that, Ignis placed a hand on Noctis' shoulder. "And now," he started with a smile, "you're stuck with us for a whole school year." He dropped his hand back to his side.

Noctis shrugged his lower lip and teased, "could be worse."

And he wasn't joking, either. Honestly, when his father told him that he was choosing Noctis' roommates, he expected the worst. He expected a group of people that it would take him a lifetime to like, and even longer to trust. In his relief, a full smile spread across his face, and he turned to glance at Ignis once more. "So, did my dad show you this place beforehand?" he asked.

Ignis shook his head and looked down the hall toward the living room. "I knew we'd be roommates, but didn't know what the apartment would look like. It's certainly nice, isn't it?"

"More than I expected," Noctis agreed with a nod.

The exact moment that Ignis opened his mouth to speak, however, a different—equally familiar—voice lilted from down the hall. "Iggy!" Iris called. "Gladdy and I saw Noct's car in the garage! Is he here?" After a rustling sound that Noctis identified as plastic bags being set down, Iris peered around the corner, an eager smile spreading across her face.

Noctis raised his hand to wave. "I dunno, Iris. Is Noct here?" he joked.

"Noct!" she waved as she bounded down the hallway and jumped up to hug him around the shoulders. "Isn't this place _amazing_?!"

Chuckling, Noctis returned her hug loosely and nodded his head. "Yeah, it looks great. Way bigger than I expected it to be," he admitted.

She nodded as she released him from the hug. "I know, right? I thought we were gonna be super cramped, but everything is _so_ spacious! Have you seen your room yet? Gladdy told me it was super massive!" She tugged eagerly on his arm, leading him further down the hall.

Ignis laughed softly and headed toward the main hall. "I'll let you show him, Iris, while I go and help Gladio put the food away," he announced, before taking his leave.

Beaming up at Noctis, Iris beckoned eagerly for him to follow her. "My room's right there, Iggy and Gladdy are sharing that one, that one's empty, and the one your dad wanted you to have is down at the end of the hall. He was even nice enough to get us beds and everything!" she announced as she walked backward down the hall.

Noctis wanted to focus on how nice it was that the four of them wouldn't have to go furniture shopping, but in the corner of his mind, a tiny bit of resentment started to build. He didn't get the chance to pick his own classes, his own apartment, his own _furniture_... or even his own room. But being resentful wasn't fair, either. There were people in town who didn't _have_ the luxury of a pretty awesome apartment and three roommates that they knew and were comfortable with. There were people who probably had to scrape by to _afford_ the living arrangements they had. So, was it really fair for him to hold resentment to his dad for wanting to be sure he had the best without having to try?

"Noct?" Iris' voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and she waved a hand in front of his face like she'd been trying to get his attention for awhile now. "Hell- _ooo_ , ground control to Major Noct?"

He blinked a couple of times, then glanced down at his childhood friend. "Sorry! Sorry, it's, uh... been a long day. What were you saying?" he asked.

She looked at him suspiciously for a moment. "You sure?" she asked him. "You were totally spaced out all the way down the hall! I kept saying stuff like 'applesauce,' 'bunny slippers,' and 'dinosaurs are running around outside' just to make sure you were paying attention, and you totally just nodded every time. I'm pretty sure that's more than just 'long day' out of it. That's like... 'zoning out in the middle of something really boring' out of it!"

Noctis laughed a little bit in spite of himself. "Yeah. I'm fine, Iris. Sorry. Just a little tired," he insisted. "I'm a-okay. Really." To punctuate his point, he gave her a double thumbs up, before shrugging his messenger bag strap further up onto his shoulder.

But Iris still looked suspicious. "If you're sure..." She examined him briefly.

He nodded, forcing a smile and turning toward the door to his room. "Yeah. I'm good. So, this is my room, huh?" he announced as he stepped into the room.

The room was furnished in mostly black, with plain white walls. Against the back wall was a large balcony that overlooked the park, and a pond where Noctis had spent some time fishing the year prior. Again, it was an amazing choice. A choice that he would have probably made on his own, had he been given the chance. But the problem with that was the fact that choices like this only happened a small part of the time. There were times like this, but there were also times when his father's choices pushed him into situations when he would rather be anywhere else. Like the Language and Context of Business class that he'd been talking about with the blond boy earlier that day, or replacing his music class with Applied Economics. Or, reaching back a bit further, the choice to even come to this school to begin with instead of going to Altissia.

Still, deep down, he knew that it was his father's way of ensuring that he was ready for the future, so as devastating as it could sometimes be, it was difficult to stay too angry.

"Wow, this room is awesome!" Iris blinked a couple of times. "Looks totally like a Noct room, too!" she added.

Noctis set his messenger bag down on the bed and sat down. "It is pretty nice. Right now it's a little plain, though. I'll have to unload my car after dinner and spend some time making it my own." 

Before Iris could respond, Ignis' voice echoed down the hallway, asking if she wanted to help him with dinner. The young woman turned toward the kitchen and shouted, "yeah! Be right there, Iggy!" She turned back to Noctis, smiling. "I'll help you unload your stuff later. And I'll rope Gladdy into it, too. He can totally carry more than both of us combined, let's not beat around the bush," she winked.

"You're a lifesaver, Iris," Noctis replied, smirking at his friend.

As she retreated down the hall, she waved her fingertips at Noctis. "Don't I know it. I'll call you for dinner!"

And then she disappeared down the hall. In an instant, Noctis was glancing around the room, imagining spots for his posters and photo wall. There was a spot between the desk and the balcony window for his guitar, and plenty of space on the walls to put up shelves. Granted, most of the room wasn't _his_ furniture, he realized in that moment that he could make it work. "Yeah," he affirmed to himself. "It won't be that bad." He just had to make the best of it.

And he also owed his dad a thank you. Reaching a hand into his pocket, he pulled his cell phone out and made quick work of finding his dad's number in his call history.

One ring. Two rings. Three rings. Fo-

Halfway through the fourth ring, his father answered. "Noctis. I trust all is well," he answered in lieu of a greeting.

"Yeah," Noctis answered. "This apartment's something else, dad."

Regis huffed a humorless laugh. "It had better be. It was one of the highest recommended in the area. I made sure it would be available for you for the rest of your years at university, too." In the background, Noctis could hear chatter, and he figured that his dad was probably at some kind of meeting.

Noctis pressed his lips together for a moment, before saying, "thanks. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Regis answered. "And you're also welcome for fixing that little mix-up with your schedule. We're just lucky the Dean caught onto it before the semester started." His tone sounded like he knew full well that it wasn't a mix-up, but didn't want to argue about it.

Which was just as well, because Noctis didn't, either. "Uh, yeah. Thanks for that, too," he answered under his breath.

After a few seconds of silence, Regis cleared his throat. "Did you have a reason to call, Noctis?" he asked, the same formal tone in his voice that Noctis had gotten used to.

"No. Um, just wanted to thank you. For the apartment and the furniture, and for letting the guys and Iris be my roommates. Way better than the dorms." Noctis glanced toward the window, at the yellow and red of the leaves in the park.

Regis hummed a note. "You're welcome. I figured that if anyone could make sure you're on the right track, it's them. Now, I'm sure you have some unpacking to do. I'm on my way to Accordo to meet with a few investors, so I'll likely be hard to reach for the next couple of weeks," he explained. Not a meeting, but close. "I'll call you when I get back home."

Noctis acknowledged his father's explanation with an "alright."

"Work hard. I expect good news when I call you back." And with that, Regis said an abrupt goodbye and hung up the phone.

Staring down at his phone in his hand, he sighed softly, before sliding it back into his pocket. He stood from the bed to go join his friends in the kitchen, raising his head to see none Gladio already standing in the doorway. It was fortunate that his friend knew of his terse relationship with his dad, or else it might have been awkward. It was still awkward, sure, but at the very least Noctis knew that it was nothing he hadn't heard before.

Gladio raised his chin. "Didn't mean to hear that," he explained, in lieu of an apology. "You good?"

Noctis nodded, pasting a smile back on his face. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. What's up?" he asked.

Clapping a hand on Noctis' shoulder, Gladio pulled him out into the hallway, shoving him gently toward the kitchen. "Dinner's ready. Some weird pasta thing with shrimp. Iggy seemed to think you'd like it."

The smile became a little less fake then, and he playfully shrugged Gladio's hand off his shoulder. At the very least, he wasn't bunking with strangers. If nothing else, Ignis, Gladio, and Iris would make the year tolerable. Things could still be okay. Things _would_ still be okay. He was sure of it.


	3. Coffee Drips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
> _and how would you like to be my friend?_  
>  _have bare hands on my skin?_  
>  _well, good to meet you, yeah, good to meet you._  
> [coffee drips](https://open.spotify.com/track/4Vo9eIoOAcqdTD2yyel3U1) \- lydia

Over the past couple of weeks, the weather had gotten ridiculously windy. It was fall's way of transitioning toward winter, Noctis knew that, but he absolutely hated wind. He'd spent all of his last class dreading the walk to his car, and all of the ride home wondering how he was going to break it to Iris that they'd have to postpone their walk around town. Wind was unpleasant when it blew in his face, when it messed his hair up, when it kicked up dust and trash from the road... when it was impossible to keep anything in his hands or on outdoor tables from blowing away; he would have been contented to just stay in for the rest of the evening. Ignis was making some sort of stew for dinner, if his texts were to be believed, so his plan was to try and get a little bit of homework in, sleep, and hope that the wind wasn't so fierce the next day.

But, a little wind wasn't enough to keep Iris from getting her tour. When he'd gotten back to the apartment, she'd been ready with her coat and scarf on, urging Noctis to keep his coat on and hurry out the door. She'd shushed all protests, insisting that a little wind was good for him, then practically dragged Noctis out the door.

"I swear, Noct, you complain more about your hair than I do!" Iris shoved him in the shoulder, before putting her own hair into two low pigtails, completely contradicting her own statement. "You're like one of those boys from the movies who carries a comb in his back pocket and has enough pomade in to make his hair more like a helmet than actual hair."

Noctis shoved her back. "Way to say that while you're putting your hair in pigtails, Iris," he huffed, pushing his bangs back into place.

Iris shrugged. "Keeps it from blowing into my face," she retorted.

"Oh, and FYI, my hair is _not_ a helmet. It's a finely crafted masterpiece that takes time every day." He pulled the lapels of his coat out and then re-flattened them, like he was trying to physically punctuate his sentence.

But Iris just stared at him incredulously. "Did you _legitimately_ just pop your collar at me?" she asked, scoffing and narrowing her eyes in faux annoyance.

Shrugging his head to the side and pouting his lip innocently, he nodded. "I think I did. What's it to you?" he teased.

Another gust of wind decided to make itself known then, and blow a large pile of leaves into the road. Wet leaves shot up from the ground and slapped Noctis in the face, and any further playful taunts he'd intended to throw in Iris' direction died off in his throat. With a scoff, he pulled the offending leaves from his face and wiped some of the mud they'd brought with them from his cheeks. Iris stood to his right, doubled over in a fit of laughter, and Noctis huffed in aggravation, taking the leaves in his hands and throwing them at her. When they impacted her face with a soft slapping sound, it was Noctis' turn to laugh at her expense.

She took the leaves from her face and tossed them to the ground. "Wow, cheap shot," she announced as she punched him in the shoulder. "So, where are you taking me, anyway? I said I wanted to get coffee, not walk all the way back to town. We've passed three different places already!"

Raising his hand and moving it as though to say 'blah, blah,' he dodged another shove to the shoulder. "Hey!" he scoffed. "You said you wanted coffee, and I'm taking you to coffee. The best coffee in town, alright?" He put his hands in the air, as if trying to appease a psychopath that was chasing him. 

"Oh, well if it's the best coffee in _town_ ," she grinned.

The shopping district was quieter than usual, though people still filed in and out of buildings and businesses. The busiest, of course, was the liquor store a few buildings down from the coffee shop. Noctis wondered, sometimes, what it was like going to parties with friends like most people did. The year prior, he'd been so busy that while he'd had the invitations, he'd never had the chance. Truthfully, the last time he'd really been to any sort of social event was his dad's Christmas party three years ago, during his senior year of high school. He'd had a couple of drinks, but that was really the most he'd ever had.

Once again, it seemed like Iris had been trying to get his attention, because when he zoned back in, he heard her say, "moogle pom. Popcorn popper, jalapeno, apple cider."

He blinked a couple times, arching an eyebrow at her. "Is that how you try to get my attention every time?" he asked her. "Take the Kurt Cobain 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' chorus approach?" He smirked wryly, a little bit proud of that joke.

Iris grinned. "I figure if anyone could get your attention, it's Kurt Cobain, so if I want to get you out of Noct Land, I've gotta try to be a lyrical genius like he was," she teased, pointing a finger gun at him. "So, while you were off in whatever internal labyrinth your brain was in, did we pass the coffee place or-"

"Nah, it's right there," Noctis told her, pointing up at the building on the corner. "The coffee they serve here makes Ebony look like the crap you get from the corner store back at home."

 _A Hill of Beans_ , despite the cheesy name, had a really comfortable ambiance inside. The walls were lined with shelves, all decorated with collectible mugs, plates, and posters. Every shelf, as well as the counters and trim, were maroon, and the walls behind them were painted dark orange. As soon as Noctis pushed the door open and Iris walked inside, she seemed completely and totally charmed. She ran her fingers along the counter, and glanced up at a coffee mug with a pair of running chocobos on it, and beamed with her whole face. "Okay, this place is awesome!"

Chuckling, Noctis pulled his hands out of his coat pocket and walked toward the counter. "I came here all winter last year to study. If the staff is the same, they probably even know my r-"

Before he could even finish speaking, Iris started waving eagerly toward the counter, smiling with her whole face. "Oh, hey!" she greeted someone eagerly.

Noctis laughed once again. "It's okay, I wasn't talking or anything," he commented as he raised his head to glance up at who Iris seemed so excited to see.

When his eyes fell upon the culprit, a little smirk crossed his face. It had been two weeks, but he still hadn't forgotten the little crash-and-fall with the blond boy in front of the Dean's office. Even with an apron on, and coffee stains littering that apron, he was impossible to forget. It seemed like he remembered Noctis, too, because after he waved to Iris and greeted her, he turned to Noctis. "Well, if it isn't the sidewalk speed bump," he joked, stacking a couple of cups next to the register.

"Someone's got to be sure people are going the running speed limit around campus," Noctis retorted, shrugging his shoulders.

Iris looked between the pair of them in surprise. "What, you two know each other?" she asked.

The blond shrugged and shook his head no. "Not really. I crashed into him and fell onto the sidewalk. So, sidewalk speed bump," he smirked.

Noctis chuckled. "So, I guess that makes you a reckless driver, then?" he crossed his arms at his chest.

With a laugh, the blond nodded vehemently. "Only when I'm walking. But that's mostly because I don't have a car. I'm not sure how reckless I'd be behind the wheel of a car, to be honest." He shrugged his mouth, setting down the last of the cups he'd been stacking and leaning his hip against the counter.

Iris watched the back and forth in amusement, then tilted her head. "So, does that mean that whenever I'm in a hurry to get somewhere, I can just crash into you and fall onto the ground?" she asked Noctis, "And you'll keep me from spinning out of control?" She seemed a little pleased with her own joke.

"Nah," he replied, a glib smirk on his face. "I only help people when it's kind of my fault. Not when people are seeking me out to trip over me."

The blond chuckled. "Oh, I guess I'm just lucky you were just as guilty as me, then. Or else I'd probably still be lying on the ground back there, 'cause no one else would've tried to help me up." He turned to look at Noctis, a little grin on his face.

Noctis laughed. "That's me, everyone's hero." He placed a hand on his chest and glanced up at the ceiling.

"Well, Everyone's Hero, is that what I'm going to have to call you forever? Or do you have a name?" the blond asked, brushing some coffee beans off of his apron and leaning his elbow on one of the pastry display cases.

Extending his hand for the blond to shake, he shrugged. "I mean, you can call me Everyone's Hero if you want, Blondie, but my name is Noctis Lucis Caelum," he introduced himself.

Blondie accepted his hand and nodded a greeting. "Prompto Argentum."

"Blondie," Noctis teased.

Prompto (or, Blondie) laughed a little, shrugging his shoulders. "If you say so, Hero." The big grin on his face implied that he was amused by the whole situation, and Noctis couldn't help but reciprocate.

Iris, after glancing back and forth between the two of them again, blinked a couple of times. "God, you two are acting like you're old friends or something. Noct _never_ acts like this around new people. You know how long it took him to open up to _me_?" she asked, playful incredulity dripping from her tone.

"Iris, we were _four and five_. What do you expect?" Noctis chuckled softly.

She shook her head in faux-offense. "No excuses, Caelum! I expect a retroactive nickname and I expect it n-" Just as quickly as she started talking, though, she cut herself off. "Aranea!" she shouted eagerly, glancing at a group of customers, one of whom was waving her over to them. She bounced on her toes, then turned to Noctis with pleading eyes. "That's the captain of the hockey team. Can you order me a PSL and a pumpkin cheesecake square, so I can go talk to them? _Please_ Noct?" she asked, clasping her hands together.

Noctis smirked wryly. "Alright, alright. You don't have to beg! The ordering of a PSL absolves me of any nicknaming duties, though," he insisted, waving her off in the direction of her new friends. She didn't hesitate to take the chance, either.

"Hm. Hero might've been accurate after all," Prompto joked from behind the counter as he punched the items into the register. "So, Pumpkin Parade for the lady. What about you?"

Chuckling, Noctis nodded. "Caramel macchiato with a double shot? And a croissant." He reached into his pocket and took his wallet out, handing his debit card over the counter.

Prompto slid the card through the reader, and while Noctis put his pin in, he could feel the other man's eyes piercing him. "So, you and Iris have known each other since you were kids?" he asked calmly, passing Noctis' card back to him after he'd put his pin in.

Nodding, Noctis followed him down the counter while he put the drinks together. "Yeah. Since before kindergarten. She and her big brother are like my family. It's kind of like I'm living with a bunch of siblings now that we're roommates." A part of Noctis wondered if, maybe, Prompto was interested in Iris. It wouldn't be the first time Noctis had been a liaison between Iris and some boyfriend, but something about this particular liaison felt like maybe it wouldn't work out. Why, Noctis couldn't tell. But he just knew.

With an interested nod, Prompto gathered the pastries from the display case, and handed both the drinks and the bag of pastries over to Noctis. "Oh, so _you're_ one of the roommates." He chuckled softly. "She was telling me about roommates the other day after class, and how you guys live in this massively awesome apartment."

Noctis chuckled and nodded. "It's pretty massive, and pretty awesome," he agreed.

Honestly, Noctis wasn't sure why Prompto was smirking at him like he was. But what he was even _less_ sure of was why he found himself compelled to reciprocate. In the vaguely dimmed lights of the coffee shop, and with the shadow cast by the coif of blond hair, Noctis could barely make out the freckles on Prompto's face. He wanted to look closer, but at the same time, he didn't want to stare. Didn't want Prompto to think he was weird or anything.

"So, you have classes with Iris?" Noctis asked, finally dragging himself out of his stupor.

Prompto nodded his head. "Composition and public speaking. So far, we've stayed after class doing homework every day. She talks about how excited she is to live with you guys all the time. And how excited she is about the hockey team," he explained, but instead of glancing at Iris, his eyes were still on Noctis.

Was he thinking that they were two guys going after the same girl, or something? This had happened several times, both with Iris and with another of Noctis' oldest female friends named Luna. Most people seemed to think that they had to compete with Noctis to get the girls' attention, but really, Noctis saw them both as family, so there was no competition to be had. But before he could open his mouth to explain, Iris' voice echoed through the whole shop.

"Noct! Prompto!" she called out, rushing up to them with an eager smile on her face. "Guess what!" Once again, before Noctis or Prompto could ask, she eagerly answered. "I made the team! Aranea said that I had a really, really good tryout and was the best of the crop! I made the team!" she beamed, leaping up and hugging Noctis around the neck.

Noctis almost dropped the coffee from his hands, but managed to keep them in place, hugging her with one arm. "You sound surprised," he commented.

Prompto nodded. "Yeah, you seemed so sure about it the other day! I'm not surprised you made it, with how sure you were," he half-smiled.

She pulled back from the hug and shoved Noctis' shoulder, yanking her drink and the pastry bag from his hands. " _Gee, congratulations Iris. That's a totally amazing feat and you're so impressive for doing it,_ " she mocked, lowering her voice in an attempt to match Noctis'.

"See, now I don't even need to say it because you said it for me," Noctis mused, putting a hand on his hip and grinning.

Prompto chuckled from behind the counter. "Yeah, seems like you have it covered."

Iris huffed and stuck her tongue out at both of them. "Jerks," she snapped playfully, curling her upper lip.

Still smirking, Noctis placed a hand on her shoulder. "Seriously, though," he nodded. "Congratulations. I knew you'd make it." He nodded at her.

With a smile, Iris nodded her head. "Better." She turned to look at Prompto now. "When do you get out of work?" She paused to take a sip from her latte while she waited for an answer.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Prompto shrugged. "About a half hour. Why?"

"Because," Iris declared. "You and Aranea are coming back to the apartment. To celebrate. No arguments."


	4. Caught Off Guard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
> _but they say, just when you’re not afraid; not expecting,_  
>  _you will be caught off guard,_  
>  _floored by love_  
> [caught off guard, floored by love](https://open.spotify.com/track/2IHY2AATiclxWgBDbfccGe) \- maria mena

The apartment was usually lively, between the four of them. But with Prompto and Aranea there now, it was even more so. Ignis and Iris puttered about the kitchen, making more of Ignis' stew since there were two more mouths to feed now. It didn't take long at all for Aranea and Gladio to get into a battle of the brawn, which culminated in Gladio throwing out a rather loud challenge to an arm-wrestling match. Aranea accepted, unsurprisingly, and once they took their places on either side of the counter, their brawn battle got significantly quieter.

While all of this was going on, Prompto busied himself with walking around the living room, examining the furniture and the intricacies that the group had put into personalizing the apartment. There was something about the way he looked at everything with wide-eyed wonder that made Noctis smile. It was almost like he'd never seen anything like this place before. But it was just an apartment, wasn't it? Yeah, the group of them had made pretty quick work in decorating it, so now it looked even _less_ like an old firehouse and more like an apartment. Iris had big plans. She wanted to paint the walls and decorate them with posters and pictures. Ignis had already started filling the bookshelves with everything from cookbooks to long novels. Gladio had brought in a few wall shelves that he'd built and was making use of his surprising green thumb to grow some decorative plants. It really did look like a home.

Prompto whistled. "Wow. You weren't kidding. This place _is_ massive. And awesome," he announced as he looked around the living room.

Maybe that was what was surprising Prompto, how in two weeks they'd taken an old firehouse and made it look like someone had been living their for their whole lives. "It didn't look like this when we got here. The furniture was there and everything, but none of the touches that the guys made were here. Now, though, it looks like we've lived here for our whole lives. Which isn't so bad, since we've only been here for a couple of weeks."

Prompto nodded his head with his lower lip jutted out in a ponderous gesture. "Still, living in an old firehouse is like something out of a sitcom," he mused, leaning against the arm of the couch and looking up at where Noctis sat in the bay window. "I like it." He nodded and smiled.

Maybe the compliment would have meant more, if it was an apartment that Noctis had picked for himself. One that he'd furnished himself. As it stood, he wasn't _ignoring_ the kind words or the way Prompto seemed to smile at him like he was the most important person in the room, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Thanks," he answered, not wanting to complain. Especially not when Prompto seemed so enrapt with the apartment.

His new friend eyed him with a suspicious expression, but whatever he was thinking or wondering, he didn't get the chance to ask. Instead, Aranea's triumphant shout caught their attention, as she made a beckoning motion toward Gladio. "Fifty gil. That was the bet! I beat you fair and square, so you'd better pay me or have me shame you publicly!"

Gladio scoffed. "How did you _do_ that?" he demanded. "I had you. You were almost pinned!" He shook his arm out, trying to work out some of the tension the long-fought battle had created.

"Ancient hockey player secret. Maybe if you admit that hockey's better than baseball, I'll teach you," Aranea challenged with a smirk.

If Noctis knew Gladio, though, he knew that his old friend wouldn't take that lying down. And in a half-a-beat, he was proven right when Gladio shook his head no. "No way I'm ever admittin' to that!" he declared as he put his elbow down on the table. "Best two out of three!"

Iris laughed softly. "Gladdy, you realize you're not gonna win this, right?" she asked him.

"Iris! You'll take her side over mine?" Gladio was trying to pretend to be offended, but there was the tiniest bit of amusement in his tone that Noctis picked up on easily. If anything, he was probably impressed. He'd always been the biggest physical powerhouse in most rooms. To be beaten like that was probably surprising to him.

With a nod, Iris said, "you bet I will!" before leaning against the counter to watch the match this time.

Gladio looked at Ignis and huffed. "What about you, Iggy? You got my back, right?" he asked.

But Ignis awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, before turning to stir the stew again. "I've always told you that you need to learn to pick your battles, Gladio," he mused with a soft chuckle.

"Traitors!" Gladio decreed, turning to Aranea again. He repeated, "Best two out of three!"

Aranea smirked and shrugged. "Sure, I'll whoop you again. Double or nothing?" she challenged.

With a resolute nod, Gladio and Aranea clasped hands again, both fiercely determined to win the second bout. Iris cheered from the sidelines, Ignis chuckled to himself from the stove, and Prompto and Noctis just stood in the living room, exchanging a look of amusement. Then Prompto turned his full attention to Noctis. "So, how big _is_ this place?" he asked. "This whole living-room-kitchen area is pretty massive, but it looks like there's a lot of hallway down there." He gestured toward the hallway on the other side of the kitchen.

Noctis turned and glanced down the hall, then nodded. "Yeah. Four bedrooms and the bathroom. I can show you, if you want. There's a balcony on the other side of my room that looks out over a pond. If you have your camera with you, I bet you'll think it's worthy of a couple shots." He pointed down the hall with his thumb, and waited for Prompto's response.

Nodding, Prompto gestured for Noctis to walk ahead of him. "I've got my phone. Lead the way, Hero."

The continuation of the nickname joke made Noctis smirk to himself as he stepped past Prompto and led him down the hall. "That's..." he paused, silent for a moment before considering carefully how to address the concept of Ignis and Gladio's shared room. It wasn't his topic to discuss, and for a split second he wished that he hadn't broached the topic at all. "Um... that's my room at the end of the hall." Instead of telling Prompto who slept in each individual room, he decided to leave it to his new friend's imagination.

Prompto either wasn't fazed by the uncertainty in Noctis' voice, or didn't catch onto it. "Each bedroom must be massive," he commented instead.

"That one's the smallest," Noctis explained, gesturing to the smallest bedroom behind them as they came to a stop at the end of the hall. "Not really sure how big it is, since I try not to go into the others' rooms if I can avoid it." Truthfully, no one slept in that room, so Noctis hadn't even really been in it other than to get a quick look around. But he figured it was safer that way.

Nodding, Prompto leaned against the wall while Noctis talked. "Makes sense," he answered, either accepting Noctis' words as fact or hiding his suspicion well.

With the door open, Noctis flicked the light on and stepped out of the way so Prompto could come inside. "Mine's the biggest, I'm pretty sure," he told Prompto as he self-consciously stacked a couple of papers—notes from his accounting class—and set them in a neat little pile on his desk. He straightened his pile of books and tilted his desk lamp so that it was facing straight down, then picked up the pens on his desk to put them in the cup he used as a pen holder.

But a soft chuckle from behind him caught his attention, and he turned around. "You can relax, you know," Prompto pointed out, placing a hand on Noctis' shoulder. "I'm not gonna judge you on how neat your room is. And if I was, I'd give you about a hundred points higher than I give myself." He laughed again, this time at his own expense.

Noctis chuckled once, a slightly embarrassed laugh. "I'm not really a neat freak. That's actually Specs," he mused, pointing over his shoulder toward the kitchen.

"Could've fooled me, Hero," Prompto teased with an easy smile on his face. "Things look a little better off-kilter, anyway, I think. Means they're used, and aren't just there for decoration." He busied himself with glancing at the photos on Noctis' photo cork board. Violet-blue eyes scanned several pictures, of Noctis and his friends, Iris, Luna, his dad... "This your dad?" he asked.

Stepping up beside him, Noctis nodded. "Yeah. That's me when I was about eight with my dad."

Prompto turned to look at Noctis, smirking softly. "You look like him, kind of. You have the same jaw. The same smile," he commented arbitrarily, glancing back toward the cork board. 

Noctis felt the faintest bit of heat rising in his cheeks, and immediately started to question where it came from. He turned his head to look away for a second, simultaneously trying to tamp away embarrassment and wondering where the hell it came from. He got complimented all the time—not that he was even sure that this _was_ a compliment. Prompto could have just been noticing something arbitrarily. But even if it wasn't, he'd definitely been told that he had his father's smile before. It had never taken him off-guard before. It had _definitely_ never made him blush before. So, how was it possible that the first time it happened was when another guy said it? He turned to look back at Prompto, hoping beyond all hope that the redness was gone.

But Prompto wasn't even looking at him anymore. "She's pretty." He pointed at a picture of Noctis and Luna together about a year ago.

"That's Luna," Noctis explained. "She and I have been friends since before I can remember. She's a TA here, actually. Working with that new history professor named Gentiana."

Prompto nodded his head, his eyes falling upon a photo of Noctis with Ignis, Iris, and Gladio at his high school graduation. "You can learn a lot about someone through pictures," he explained. "That's why I like them so much. It captures one moment in time for eternity, and each time you look away and look at it again, you notice and learn something different." He smiled softly, turning to Noctis. "You're really photogenic," he pointed out.

 _That_ was a compliment. And once again, Noctis' cheeks heated up. He tried to ignore it. "Um... thanks," he mumbled, stepping back from the cork board and pointing toward the sliding glass door. "So, did you want to see the balcony? Get some pictures?" He stepped toward the sliding glass door without waiting for an answer.

Humming an affirmative answer, Prompto followed behind Noctis, but paused when he noticed Noctis' guitar sitting on the floor between the desk and the sliding glass door. "Nice guitar," he commented. "You play?"

Noctis turned around to look at the guitar, shrugging one shoulder. "Yeah." He paused. "Well... no, not really." He shook his head no. "I know a little bit. The riff to 'Smoke on the Water' and the chord progression from 'Lightning Crashes.' A couple others, but that's it." Of course, he _wished_ that he knew more. But he'd never really gotten the chance to learn much.

"Hey, that's more than most of the people who think they're the best in the world. You should play something for me sometime," Prompto suggested, like it was just as simple as suggesting that he go and grab a drink from the other room or something.

Unable to hide his surprise, Noctis blinked a couple of times as Prompto stepped past him onto the windy balcony. It wasn't like he played for people all the time. It wasn't like he played for people _ever_ , really. The only person who had ever _heard_ him play and sing was his father when he was fifteen, and that was right before he'd deemed it a waste of time and insisted that he focus his energy on something more constructive, like his homework. Noctis had been forced out of the guitar class that he'd used his Christmas money for, and his father had almost made him sell his guitar. But he'd held onto it. He just didn't play often anymore.

Shaking himself out of his reverie, he stepped out onto the balcony with Prompto. The sun was trying to sneak through the clouds, but the wind still whipped around them like a fan blowing straight on their faces. For once, though, Noctis didn't panic about his coif being blown around. He was stunned into silence, as he watched Prompto take his place in panic over his hair. 

"I hate this wind!" he shouted, raising a hand to his blond locks trying to push them back into place. "It takes time to make my hair look like this!"

Noctis laughed. "Don't let Iris hear you say that," he joked. "She'll go on about how you probably carry a comb in your pocket and wear enough pomade to make your hair into a helmet." He raised a hand and fruitlessly pushed his own hair back into place.

With a laugh, Prompto shrugged. "Yeah, but it's different for you. You look good all windblown like that," he mused, reaching into his pocket and pulling his cell phone out.

The compliment made Noctis' cheeks heat up again, and he turned to look away from Prompto, refusing to allow his new friend to see him all red-faced. The sound of the synthesized shutter of a phone camera hit his ear, though, and forced him to turn back and look at Prompto again. The blond snapped picture after picture of their surroundings, everything from a group of ducks flying away from the pond to a pile of leaves being swept up and blown into a mini-tornado by the wind. There was something about the focus in his expression that made it hard for Noctis to look away, but eventually he forced himself to do just that.

He heard another couple of shutter sounds, and then turned to see Prompto turning away from him. "Did you just... take a picture of me?"

Prompto nodded, locking his phone screen and sliding it back into his pocket. "Does that bother you?" he asked.

Noctis shook his head no. "I guess not," he admitted. "I'm just surprised is all." After a brief pause, he wet his lips. 

"You shouldn't be," Prompto insisted. "So, what do you say? Can I hear you play sometime?"

Admittedly, Noctis had been hoping that taking pictures had been enough to distract him from that question, but it was clear now that it hadn't. "I... don't play for people very often," he confessed. "But... I'll make you a deal. If you show me some of your pictures, I'll... I'll play something for you. Okay?" he asked, daring himself to look at Prompto again.

Prompto was surprised for a second, but a little smile crossed his face as he nodded. "Yeah, alright. I'll compile some of my best. And you learn to play your favorite song."

His favorite song. Noctis nodded quietly, trying to think of exactly what his favorite song was, but nodded to the conditions of the deal without even really thinking it through much. "I think that's fair," he agreed.

"Awesome," Prompto affirmed with a grin. He turned around so that he was leaning against the stone railing to the balcony, leaning his elbows against it. "This apartment really is something else. Even with four people, it seems crazy to be able to afford something like this. It's probably five times what I get in a month." He looked up at the roof, then over at Noctis. "How do you guys do it?"

And then, Noctis went from tentatively happy about the chance to play a song for someone, to embarrassed. Ashamed. "We, uh... we don't," he explained. "My dad. He owns this multi-billion gil company. He did it." With his eyes in front, instead of on Prompto, he watched as a squirrel ran from the edge of the water to get up into a nearby tree.

"Ah," was Prompto's only response.

Noctis nodded. "Yeah," he mumbled.

But before the silence could get too awkward, Prompto spoke up again, his tone still casual and easy. "My apartment barely qualifies as an apartment," he mused with a little chuckle. "More like a one room roach motel with a bathroom." He turned so that he was facing Noctis, his hip leaning sideways against the railing. "But this place is nice."

Nice, sure. But the attached strings were tied too tight. "Yeah, but there's a cost..." Noctis commented before he could stop himself.

Prompto eyed Noctis like he was waiting for the thought process to continue, but when Noctis didn't keep talking, he urged him on verbally. "What, you mean like it's expensive? I kind of figured that," he explained, the same honest smile on his face.

"No," Noctis shook his head no. "No, um..." He scratched his head, still not meeting Prompto's eye. "Never mind. It's... it's not important."

It looked like Prompto was going to ask, was going to push a little, but before he got the chance, Iris knocked on the sliding glass door, pulling it open. "Dinner's ready," she told them, eyeing them with a slightly mischievous look in her eye. "Iggy told me to come get you. I think he's gonna start freaking out if Gladdy and Aranea don't stop arm-wrestling." She paused for a second, tilting her head and looking from Noctis to Prompto, and then back. "Do you guys need a minute?" she asked.

Shaking his head abruptly, Noctis cleared his throat and gestured for Prompto to go back into the apartment first. "No, we're good. Thanks, Iris."

The gratitude was for more than getting them for dinner. It was for keeping Noctis from having to reveal that he was a 'poor little rich boy' to Prompto, who had more or less just confessed to living in a dumpy apartment and who probably thought of people like him as entitled snobs. It was for preventing him from turning into a red-faced idiot anymore that night. But that part went unsaid. As he turned around to close the door behind him, he tried internally to will it not to happen again.


	5. Carry You There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
> _you don't have to be afraid to just rely_  
>  _on someone to hold away part of you, child;_  
>  _it's all right._  
> [carry you there](https://open.spotify.com/track/7q7I7REEYp36Uos4ZzoGl9) \- hanson

"Dude, I've got to say, I'm bored just _watching_ you do that," Prompto mused as he reached into his pretzel bag and bit one in half.

The mid-October sky was still blue, even if the air had gotten slightly colder. Significantly colder, if Noctis was being completely honest with himself. The autumn chill was such that it drove Noctis and Prompto into the student union to study instead of at the benches on the quad. The student union was busy most days, filled with chattering voices and echoing footsteps from the rest of the building. But that day, Noctis and Prompto had been there for so long that most of the people who _were_ there had cleared out in order to go home. It was nearing 4:30 now, and Noctis' last class had let out at 1:55.

No wonder most everyone was gone.

Noctis sat at a table in the mostly-empty student union, across from Prompto, typing numbers and figures into his calculator and trying to figure out exactly how to solve this accounting problem that had been plaguing him for a half hour. There was an error somewhere in the formula that he was supposed to find, but he'd been at it for the past hour and hadn't made any headway. To say that he, too, was bored? It was a tragic, tragic understatement. He stared at the page for another couple of seconds, then heaved a put-upon sigh. Of all his classes, this was his least favorite. Math was horribly boring, and he couldn't imagine sitting in a booth and doing it all day like accountants seemed to do. He raised his head to look at Prompto again.

Smirking, he asked, "then why are you watching me do it, Blondie? You don't have to, you know." He tapped his pencil against the table and stared at all the numbers on the paper.

Not that he minded. For the past couple of weeks, he and Prompto had spent a decent amount of time together after classes. Sometimes, Noctis would hang around with Prompto at the coffee shop for his whole shift, and sometimes, on Prompto's rare days off, they would sit in the student union like this and do homework until supper time. Then, Noctis always invited Prompto back to the apartment for dinner. Today, though, Prompto seemed adamant to keep him from studying too much.

Prompto shrugged. "Someone has to keep you from drowning in a sea of numbers and dollar signs," he pointed out through a mouthful of pretzel, reaching over and sliding the paper out from under Noctis' arm. "I mean, come _on_ , Hero. _On December first a company borrowed $100,000 at 12% per year. The interest will be paid quarterly, with the_ —" As he read the words, he droned along like a robot, but then he stopped abruptly and passed the paper back to Noctis dramatically. "No. I can't. Too boring."

Noctis couldn't hold back a soft chuckle as he accepted the paper and flipped it back around so he could read the writing again. "It is," he agreed. "Extremely. But it's a required course for my major. If I want to make it to next year, I need to do it." He shrugged.

Only, as he glanced down at the page, he sighed. It was boring. It was _incredibly_ boring. And he was tired of it. Maybe later, maybe at home, he'd be more inclined to be able to focus on it. But right now, he kind of wanted to crumple the paper up and stuff it into his messenger bag, never to touch it ever again. Instead, he shut it neatly into his book and looked up at Prompto again.

"Let's say, theoretically, I was into the idea of ditching this for now," Noctis started, putting his pencil, eraser-down, onto his accounting book. "What else would you want to do?" He shrugged a shoulder. "Because if I'm giving up boring but useful, you're going to have to give me fun in trade. And don't think you can weasel out of a deal with a business major, either. We're like sharks." He pointed his eraser at Prompto, as if trying to use that to prove his point.

For a split second, it was like Prompto's eyes twinkled in mischief, or some other kind of emotion that Noctis couldn't quite identify. But before Noctis could ask what that expression meant, he hummed, tapping his thumb on his chin. "We could do _my_ homework," he suggested.

Noctis looked incredulous. "Wait a second," he arched an eyebrow, sounding doubtful.

"Hear me out, hear me out!" Prompto insisted, putting his hands up to appease Noctis. "I have to photograph a sport for my class. I was thinking hockey. Iris and Aranea's team has an open practice until 6:00 tonight, so we could ditch this place, go to practice, I could get my pictures and we could have more fun than we would have just sitting here trying to figure out interest rates and percentages and whatever else is written on that very, very boring piece of paper."

Once again, Noctis laughed. He glanced at the ceiling, considering Prompto's suggestion for a couple of seconds. "I _am_ tempted to see one of Iris' practices," he pondered aloud. He glanced over at the rest of his papers, before nodding and beginning to stack them up to put into his messenger bag. "Alright, Blondie. You've got yourself a deal. Let's see how much more interesting your homework is than mine." He clipped his bag shut and stood from the table, grabbing his coat from the back of the chair.

Prompto smiled, a bright and wide smile that was _impossible_ not to reciprocate, and shouldered his backpack. "And if you find yourself bored, you can always crack open your books in there," he joked, nudging Noctis with his shoulder.

Laughing softly as he held the door to the student union open for Prompto, Noctis shook his head no. "I don't think Iris would ever let me live that one down," he mused with a little chuckle.

"I don't think _I_ would ever let you live that one down. Doing accounting homework instead of watching a hockey practice?!" Prompto asked incredulously. "There's insane, and then there's certifiable. That's inching toward the last one."

After that, the walk across campus to the arena was filled with Prompto telling a story of how he'd spent time working a food stand in Lestallum in an attempt to save up enough money to rent his apartment. He told Noctis of some of the people he'd met, like a drunk female bodybuilder. The woman's friends had challenged her to overhead lift him like a barbell—a feat which she'd accomplished with no trouble whatsoever—and because he'd played along so willingly, they'd brought him to a bar and gotten him in even though he was underage. The rest of the evening, he served as a referee for competitions of strength, and ended up winning a drinking contest against the woman who'd lifted him.

Noctis stared in wide-eyed wonder at his friend, amused at the fact that he seemed to have seen so much in his life. He was Noctis' age, but all the things he'd seen and done made Noctis' life seem so sheltered and small. He'd never even been in a position where being overhead-lifted was even _possible_ , but now he was curious as to what it was like.

"...so, yeah," Prompto looked at Noctis with a little grin, "if you ever get the chance to go to a bar with a body builder and her friends, I highly recommend that you do it."

With eyes still wide as saucers, Noctis laughed a little more. "I'll keep that in mind," he mused. "I can't believe you beat her in a drinking contest, though. You said she was three times as big as you are!" He raised his arms out to signify the woman's girth.

Prompto nodded and smirked as he pushed the door to the hockey arena open. "I know, I was really surprised. But Shirley—that was her name, Shirley—Shirley's friends said that she has the alcohol tolerance of a twelve-year-old. I mean, I don't have a very big tolerance, either. It only took two shots for her to be done, though," he chuckled softly.

"And how were _you_?" Noctis asked with an arched eyebrow.

Pushing a laugh through his nose, Prompto shook his head no. "Completely wasted, and the next morning I was wishing for death," he explained. "Shirley's friend Holly told me that I spent the whole rest of the night trying to get the bartender to come back to my room at the boarding house I was living at."

The pang of jealousy that surged through Noctis' veins didn't go unnoticed, but since he had no idea why it was happening, he did the best he could to push past it. "Did you succeed?" he asked.

Shaking his head no, he chuckled. "Nah. But that's okay, because I was so hung over the next morning that I would have been absolutely horrible to be around," he smirked at his own expense as he opened his backpack to take his camera out.

It was only then that he noticed that they were already in the front row of the arena. He turned his head from Prompto to look out on the ice and see Iris doing some kind of skating drill. From one edge of the ice to the other, then back, then taking a shot. His dear friend looked completely and totally at home on the ice, and it made Noctis smile. She spotted them when she finished, and took a second to wave eagerly (which the pair responded to in kind), then turned back to the team. Aranea took her turn next, doing the same drill, and while Noctis watched her, he found himself wondering if there was anything out there that would make him feel at home like that.

"I don't know how to skate, you know?" Prompto asked arbitrarily, as he moved a couple of steps down to snap a shot of Aranea as she circled the goal.

Noctis turned to look at him again, watching him as he took more pictures. Of Aranea, of the rest of the team watching Aranea, of various empty spots in the arena. "So, you've spent time around female body builders, lived in a boarding house, lived all this life, and you don't know how to skate?" he teased.

Shaking his head no, Prompto glanced over at Noctis with a half-smile. "Crazy, right?" he asked.

There was an offer to teach him right behind Noctis' lips, but instead of offering, he suggested, "maybe Aranea or Iris could teach you."

Prompto shook his head no. "I'm content to watch from the sidelines. They're pretty good and I'm pretty sure I'd have the elegance of a drunken anak out there. I'm clumsy enough on land. Sidewalk speed bump, remember?" he joked with a chuckle, turning back to take more pictures.

Shrugging, Noctis chuckled softly. "I guess."

"I'm fine with photographing it, anyway," Prompto continued.

Noctis watched him for a couple more seconds, studying him closely. He'd heard stories about Prompto's life as an adult. Stories of fun things he'd done and jobs he'd worked. But he still didn't know where his new friend was from or anything like that. "So, where are you from, anyway?" he asked, lowering himself to sit in a chair in the front row.

For a second, it didn't seem like Prompto was going to answer. He went quiet, pressed his lips together, and fiddled with a couple of settings on his camera.

Without looking up from his camera, Prompto finally answered. "A-Accordo. Um... Altissia." There was an unexpected stumbling nervousness to his tone then; a nervousness that Noctis had never heard before. For some unknown reason, he didn't meet Noctis' eye at all when he spoke. "I grew up in foster care. No one adopted me or anything, and I had no one holding me there, so I just left Altissia when I was sixteen and never looked back." His tone was uncharacteristically quiet, and he turned his back to Noctis then, snapping another picture.

"That was brave," Noctis answered, not taking his eyes of Prompto when he spoke. "Taking off alone like that. I don't know if I could do it. I'm..." He paused, glancing down at his hands. "I'm bad at alone."

Prompto shrugged, letting his camera hang by its strap down around his neck, and taking the seat next to Noctis. "I don't know, I kind of figured something out, after I left home. You may be by yourself, but there are so many people in the world that you're never alone, you know? Walking down the street, you see so many people every day, going about their lives, doing their thing." He paused, pushing his hair back from his face for a moment, before finally meeting Noctis' eyes again. "But is there any reason that your lives and their lives can't cross?"

Noctis found that he couldn't help but smile a bit at Prompto's way of thinking. "I guess not," he mused.

"Exactly. I may not have had the people around me that you have; Gladio, Ignis, Iris, your dad," Prompto paused, and Noctis turned his head to look down again, his smile fading, "but I've never been alone, because there are billions of female body builders, or friendly hockey players, or sidewalk speed bumps in the world. No one's ever really alone."

 _No one is alone._ Noctis pondered that for a moment, turning back to Prompto and letting his smile come back. "I like that," he confessed.

Prompto shrugged and chuckled. He glanced out at the ice again and watched as another of the girls skated a lap. "It's nothing special or anything. Just how I helped myself get by. But thanks. It's good to know that it doesn't sound insane or anything."

Noctis shook his head no. "Doesn't sound insane at all," he insisted.

If anything, it was a mindset that Noctis wished that he could adopt himself. But as it stood, he was very deeply dreading going back to the apartment the next day after class. Iris had a team building weekend with the rest of her team, Gladio and Ignis were going out overnight for their third anniversary, and Noctis was going to be left alone in the apartment. Much as his new friend's words affected him, he still couldn't get himself past the anxiety that being alone in the apartment caused.

"So, tomorrow," Noctis started, but then uncertainty took hold and kept him from continuing.

Prompto tilted his head, nudging Noctis with his shoulder and urging him on. "Tomorrow..."

Chuckling nervously, Noctis turned his head and glanced over at Prompto again. "Right. Tomorrow. Tomorrow night. Are you busy?" he asked.

With a shake of his head, he answered, "I work until seven, but after that, I was just going to go home and upload some pictures." He shrugged one shoulder and continued. "Why, what's up?" he asked.

Noctis shrugged. "Just wondering if you wanted to come by the apartment. Order some takeout, play some Mario Kart, crash on the couch or something." Nerves made him turn his head to look away. He was making it sound like a sleepover. They weren't girls or anything, so there was no way that Prompto would agree to something stupid like that, right?

"One condition," Prompto answered, and when Noctis turned his head to look, his friend was holding his index finger up to portray his one condition.

With an arched eyebrow, Noctis answered, "okay...?" curiously.

Nudging Noctis with his shoulder again, a wry grin crossed Prompto's face as he continued. "You don't cry like a little baby when Princess Peach and I make you look like a pathetic little fool. You have no idea what you just opened yourself up to," he insisted, pointing a finger gun at Noctis.

Laughing, Noctis shrugged. "See, this is you assuming that my red overall-wearing plumber friend and I don't have some tricks up our sleeve," he countered, tilting his chin up in challenge.

"Oh, it's on, Hero."

"Bring it, Blondie."


	6. Army

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
> _dark times, you could always find the bright side,_  
>  _i'm amazed by the things that you would sacrifice_  
>  _just to be there for me._  
> [army](https://open.spotify.com/track/3cxia688g7zQOXktL5puZm) \- ellie goulding

Accordan food. Knowing that Prompto had grown up in Altissia, Noctis thought that maybe a nice Accordan meal would be a pleasant surprise for his friend when he showed up that night. Prompto had insisted via text that whatever Noctis wanted to get for dinner was fine by him, because he was a self-proclaimed human vacuum who would eat anything put before him. So, Noctis had ordered pesto shrimp pasta, minestrone, eggplant parmesan, and garlic bread. As he walked to Little Accordo, he wondered not for the first time if maybe this would come off as romantic. But if Prompto asked, he would explain.

It wasn't romantic. It was just a gesture of friendship for his new Accordan friend. Simple as that.

He huffed a laugh to himself as he stuffed his hands further into his pockets. _You're making a big deal out of nothing, Noctis. He won't ask. It's not like you asked him out to dinner or anything, so..._ So, he was panicked for nothing. Besides, it wasn't like he'd given any indication that he was interested. It wasn't like he _was_ interested... in Prompto, or in guys in general.

 _Not that it's bad,_ he thought to himself as he rounded the corner into Little Altissia. _I've never had problems with gay people before. I mean, Iggy and Gladio are together. They're perfectly happy. I don't have a problem with it. I'm just... I'm just not..._ He trailed off in his own mind, closing his eyes from where they'd been focused at his feet and giving his head a hard shake. _Stop. Stop overthinking it. It's fine._

He glanced up at the restaurant—a little place called _La Rosellina_ —and took a step toward the door. But before he lifted his foot to take another step, a hand on his shoulder grabbed his attention. He turned his head, then his body, and surprise lined his features when none other than Dean Izunia stood behind him, looking down with a slick smile on his face. "Dean Izunia. Hey," he greeted calmly.

"Call me Ardyn, remember? I must say, I barely recognized you without your blond Siamese twin." Ardyn gestured toward his hip. "You two have been thick as thieves these days, hm?"

Noctis was quiet for a moment, gauging the man's reaction and wondering for a moment if that was some kind of criticism. Truthfully, he'd given Noctis no reason not to trust him, so he wasn't sure exactly why he was so suspicious, but he couldn't really help it. "I guess so, yeah," he commented with a shrug.

Humming a thoughtful note, Ardyn nodded his head. "I suppose I can understand the appeal of spending time with a free-spirit like that. All fun and games, no work, right? A business degree needs a little bit of fun, or else I'm sure you'd drown in the dullness. Just be sure not to fall into the fun drought, either. It would be a shame for you to fall between the cracks." His voice was condescending, like Noctis was nothing but a child, and it was really difficult not to be offended.

"I'm fine, thanks," Noctis insisted.

Ardyn nodded, his lips curling further into a smile that was almost Cheshire in its sarcasm. "Of _course_ , dear boy. I'm sure you're absolutely fine. Just be careful, because sometimes people like that aren't exactly what they present themselves to be. I'd hate to find out that your blond photographer friend was hiding something from you," he explained, clapping his hand on Noctis' shoulder again.

Noctis wasn't sure exactly what that meant, but he was _definitely_ sure that he didn't quite trust the words. This was erring closer to creepy-weirdo territory than concerned educator territory. But rather than say anything, he just looked up at Ardyn and nodded his head once in acknowledgment. "If you say so," was all he said.

The snakelike smile faded away then, replaced for a split second with an expression of annoyance, before finding its way back. He squeezed Noctis' shoulder softly. "It's ultimately your call, of course, dear boy. I'd just hate to hear how your father would react if your grades start slipping."

As much as he wished it wouldn't, that made Noctis balk. It wasn't enough to make him stop hanging around with Prompto—after all, he'd never really had as much fun as he had with Prompto, and he was selfish enough not to want to give that up—but it was enough to worry him. It was enough to make him panic. He would just have to hit the books twice as hard when Prompto left. Pulling his shoulder from Ardyn's grasp, he took a half-step backward, trying to put some distance between himself and a man who was making him more than a little uncomfortable.

"They won't," was the only answer Noctis gave to the implication that Prompto would cause his grades to slip.

Ardyn raised his hands to concede to Noctis and started backing away, down the sidewalk. "Point taken, dear boy. Point taken. I'll take my leave, then. But bear in mind what I've said. Secrets can be terrible things," he insisted. And with a tip of his hat, he turned and retreated down the street.

In Ardyn's wake was a stupefied Noctis, blinking after the man's retreating form. _Secrets can be terrible things._ No, Noctis hadn't known Prompto for long, but in that short time, he'd never gotten any indication that Prompto was anything other than a live wire and a free spirit, who had lived more life than anyone else Noctis had ever known. Ardyn, though; while never outwardly aggressive or accusatory, there was something about his constant Cheshire smile and patronizing 'advice' that just rubbed Noctis the wrong way. Still, it wasn't like he could act on it. It wasn't like he could really _talk_ about it. Ardyn was the Dean of Students. He could have Noctis thrown out of school at the drop of a hat. Imagining his dad's ire _then_ sent a chill down Noctis' spine.

So, for now, he was stuck just letting the man spout his advice. With no real evidence that he was off or wrong, Noctis couldn't say anything. And even if he could, who would he say it to?

Casting those thoughts aside with a hard shake of his head, he pulled his coat tighter around him and stepped inside the restaurant. The smells wafting from the kitchen made him smirk a little. It had been a long while since he'd had good Accordan food, but he did remember it smelling just like this. The restaurant bustled, and people chattered and went about their business, but Noctis found himself unable to focus on anything but getting back to his apartment and getting ready to hang around with Prompto. So much so that he almost left his debit card behind when he paid for dinner. It wasn't until he got to the door that the cashier caught him.

And it wasn't as though he was speed-walking home or anything. He just... didn't want the food to get cold. Which was clearly why it took him half the time to get back from the restaurant that it did for him to get there.

With the bag of Accordan food on the counter, he turned the radio on (turning it away from the classical station that Specs tended to have it on) and glanced around the empty apartment. Immediately, he started to busy himself with cleaning his books off the coffee table. Before going to get dinner, he'd been working on his homework, and he didn't want any evidence of the ever-boring marketing class in front of them while they played games. So, into his room and on his desk those went. He'd finish his classwork over the weekend. It wasn't like _not_ having it completely finished on a Friday night was going to let his grades slip.

It was when he was reaching over his head into the cabinet to get plates, that he heard footsteps trudging up the stairs outside the apartment.

"Alright, Hero," Prompto called as he knocked on the door. "Don't try and hide from your inevitable defeat behind a closed door."

All nerves—that he _definitely_ hadn't been feeling, because he had no reason to—faded in that moment, and Noctis laughed as he jogged to the door to pull it open. "As if I'd ever hide from you and Princess Peach. I mean, in the original game all she was good for was getting kidnapped and being in another castle," he commented in lieu of a greeting.

Prompto's responding grin made Noctis grin even wider in turn. "You're gonna eat those words," he retorted as he brushed past Noctis and into the apartment. "Oh, it smells great in here! What is that?"

Shrugging one shoulder, Noctis pointed his thumb toward the counter. "Got some Accordan food," he explained. "I figured that maybe it had been awhile since you'd had it, so..." Suddenly, he was embarrassed to have said it aloud, because it sounded so stupid. Accordan food was what people ate on _dates_. This wasn't a date. It was just two friends—two _male_ friends—hanging around, playing games.

The embarrassment only grew when, for a moment, Prompto didn't meet his eye. When Noctis dared himself to look back in Prompto's direction, his eyes were on the floor, and they didn't hold that same happy twinkle that always seemed able to bring Noctis' mood up along with it. Instead, he looked withdrawn; lost in thought, like his mind was a million miles away. And it made Noctis feel like he'd made a big mistake. Maybe Accordo was tied to bad memories. He _had_ said that he'd run away and never looked back, so why would he want anything that reminded him of a place that he was so ready and willing to get away from? Self-doubt crept up, and suddenly all Noctis wanted to do was apologize.

So, that was what he would do. "If, um... if you don't want Accordan food, I can always refrigerate it for tomorrow or something, and we can get something else or-"

Prompto shook his head, glancing back up at Noctis with a smile back on his face. It didn't quite reach his eyes, but it was there. "No," he insisted. "It was... it was thoughtful." Now, the smile reached his eyes. "Really thoughtful. You really are a true blue hero, Hero." He raised a hand and squeezed Noctis' shoulder.

Something still didn't feel right, but whatever that something was, it _definitely_ wasn't Prompto's hand on his shoulder. A tiny grin crossed his face, and he shrugged the opposite shoulder so not to shrug Prompto's hand off. "If you're sure," he offered nervously.

This time, Prompto's smile and nod was the one he'd gotten used to seeing. "I am. So why don't you dish out that thoughtful meal you grabbed and-" he stumbled for a second, his smile fading into uncertainty- "and I'll tell you everything I know about Accordan cuisine." He dropped his hand and brought the smile right back.

Except, the conversation about Accordan food didn't last for long. The pair of them set up dinner on the coffee table, and Prompto talked about an Accordan bistro that he'd been curious about as a child. After he explained that he could always smell the eggplant parmesan and it always made him hungry, he was very quick to change the subject and move on. It left Noctis with a thousand questions on the tip of his tongue, but since whatever was holding Prompto back from talking as openly about his past as he did about most other things seemed to be quite painful, he didn't push it.

As much as he wanted to.

Instead, he wandered over to the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of bourbon. Ignis used it mostly for cooking, but he'd seen him pouring it into a glass a few times, too, so it had to taste somewhat okay, right? He poured it in a pair of glasses and brought one over to Prompto, trying to look cool and confident, like he'd done this before.

He sipped it gingerly, but he was surprised by the bitterness. The only other time he'd really had alcohol was just a glass of wine, but that was sweet. This tasted... surprisingly horrible. And his expression likely showed that clearer than anything, as did the way he practically choked on it when it went down his throat.

Prompto laughed a teasing laugh, before setting his glass on the table. "You don't drink often, do you?" he asked.

"N-no..." Noctis gasped out through coughs. His throat burned a bit, but he cleared it as best he could and tried to push on. "I've only ever had wine before, really. But..." Another cough. "I'm okay. I just didn't expect it to taste so bitter."

With a nod, Prompto stabbed a piece of shrimp with his fork. "Or to burn so much going down, I'm sure," he chuckled softly.

Noctis nodded, clearing his throat for a final time as he examined the amber liquid in his glass. "I always kind of thought that movies exaggerated that," he mused. "The choking and gagging the first time you take a drink of actual liquor. But I guess not." He took another small sip, bracing himself for the burn and the coughing this time. It wasn't as bad, but it was still there. He set his glass down on the table now, and replaced it with his garlic bread and soup.

"You don't have to, you know?" Prompto asked. "It's not like it's the _only way to be cool_ or anything, like all those cheesy teen shows say. I think you're pretty cool without it."

Once again, Noctis' cheeks heated up, and he busied himself with tearing a piece of bread off and dipping it into his soup. "I know I don't have to," he answered. "I just... never have, you know? It's something that everyone else around me has done that I never have and I wanted to. Not because of peer pressure. Or maybe a little, but not in a bad way. But because I want to. I want to have fun." He glanced down at his soup bowl, using his spoon to stir it a little bit, refusing to meet Prompto's eye.

Prompto was quiet at first, but he hummed his understanding. "Well, that's okay then. I just didn't want you to feel like you needed to impress me, or anything," he suggested, through a half-chewed mouthful of pasta.

"I don't."

Except, he did. Prompto was, far and away, the coolest person that Noctis had met in his life. Not to say that Iggy and Gladio and Iris and Luna and his other friends weren't cool. They were. But there was this light in Prompto that drew Noctis to him. Excitement. Fun. He'd done so much, experienced so much life, and Noctis really didn't want to be the boring anchor that tied his exciting new friend down.

He grabbed his glass and took another drink, his gulp a little larger this time. It burned, but he didn't cough.

"Good," Prompto commented. "Because all you need to do to impress me is back up all this trash talk, and prove to me how much 'better' your plumber is than my princess." One-handed air-quotes surrounded the word 'better.'

That brought Noctis' attention back to Prompto, and he allowed a little smirk to cross his face. His head already swam just slightly, but it was a _pleasant_ swim. "I keep telling you that you're biting off more than you can chew," he mused, a wry little grin crossing his face as he stood to go and gather the controllers and get their game session started.

Prompto laughed. "Just forewarning you-" he pointed at Noctis as he set his plate down on the table- "if you knock me off Rainbow Road, I _will_ blue shell you into hell."


	7. Light Me Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
> _untie this cord, we don't need it no more._  
>  _wherever we are, i'm yours always._  
>  _it flows in my blood, i still carry your love._  
> [light me up](https://open.spotify.com/track/6pQfHpMKbKsUIFHu2jQ2jW) \- birdy

Simply put, Noctis was drunk.

Not puke-his-guts-out, trip-over-everything drunk. But he was drunk enough to let loose and laugh more than he _usually_ did with Prompto, which was already quite a bit. They'd been playing Mario Kart for about an hour now, and though between Prompto's trash talk and his own level of inebriation, he expected the matches to be _far_ more even than they were. Prompto hadn't managed to win even one race. He'd come close this time, but in his eagerness to trash talk and celebrate what he'd thought was an 'inevitable' win, he'd swerved right into a banana peel and then gotten hit by an AI's blue shell. The ensuing tirade about how Princess Daisy was just mad because Princess Peach is so clearly the superior Mushroom Kingdom princess had Noctis laughing far too loud for far too long.

"No, seriously!" Prompto announced. "Princess Peach gets the pretty pink dress and what's Daisy stuck in? Yellow. And orange. It's a _wonder_ she's jealous."

Noctis smiled with his whole face and shrugged. "What, not fond of brunettes? Should've known you blonds would stick together." His speech slurred a bit, and he rolled his eyes playfully as he let Prompto flick through the different tracks.

Prompto chuckled softly. "Nah. Neither of them are really my type, actually," he commented arbitrarily, not taking his eyes off the screen as he scrolled past Yoshi Island. "Not really into the whole 'princess' thing." He reached over to the table for his drink and took another slow sip.

Though he wasn't looking at Noctis, Noctis was looking at him. "Could've fooled me, with how you ranted on and on about the Princess Peach defense squad thing," he mused, leaning across the couch and bumping his shoulder into Prompto's.

"I mean, that's different. Just because I defend her, doesn't mean I'm _into_ her," Prompto explained, setting his drink down on the table. "Peach is constantly underestimated. She may not be the super strong and badass princess like Mulan or whatever other badass princesses are out there and not-quite-as-good-as-Mulan, but she's a tough cookie. How many times has Bowser snagged her up when she was just going about her business? And how many times has he _actually_ defeated her?"

Noctis couldn't, for the life of him, wipe the grin off of his face. "Alright, that's a fair point," he agreed, watching as Prompto turned to glance at him finally.

Prompto nodded emphatically. "Maybe when Daisy has been through all the crap Peach has been through, I'll be more inclined to jump on board the 'Daisy isn't just romance fodder for Luigi' train." He chuckled. "I hate it when a character in something is reduced to romance fodder for another character, you know? Doesn't have much more redeeming backstory than 'oh, this is this person's love interest. You're automatically supposed to love them.'" He picked up the last of the garlic bread on his plate and popped it into his mouth, instead of immediately picking a stage.

With a nod, Noctis shrugged one shoulder. "It does kinda seem like a cheap method to get people's attention," he admitted, topping his glass off again. He'd have to remember to give Ignis some money to buy some more of whatever this was. The bottle wasn't gone, not by a long shot. But it wasn't really his.

Finally, Prompto selected the stage—Rainbow Road, predictably—and then turned to Noctis. "Remember what I said. You knock me off-"

"I know, I know, you'll blue shell me to hell," Noctis rolled his eyes. "Assuming you can actually stay on the edge long enough to _use_ a blue shell."

Prompto scoffed and glared at Noctis, heaving a grumpy sigh as he selected Princess Peach once again. "You'll see. Peach will have her vengeance and it will be _so sweet_." He shook out invisible rust on his arms and cracked his knuckles, before settling in for a long fought Rainbow Road race.

At first, the room was quiet. Aside from button presses, anyway. Prompto was too focused on finally beating Noctis and Noctis was too focused on keeping his streak alive. Every once in awhile, he would turn and look from the corner of his eye, see the focus on Prompto's face, and fight back a smirk. His blond friend had his tongue out of the corner of his mouth, trying desperately to get to the front of the pack. And for awhile, he even managed to succeed.

"Yes!" Prompto called out when he reached first place. "Short plumbers can bite me! First place incoming!"

Noctis scoffed. "We are _not_ going to take this laying down," he announced, then smirked as he noticed Prompto coming up to a part of the track where he could fall off. "Hey, Blondie? You can't get a blue shell when you're in first, right?" His smirk grew even more, because he knew the answer to his question full well.

Prompto shook his head. "Don't you dare!" he exclaimed as Noctis hit the button to send his red shell at Prompto. "No! No, nonono!" Peach swerved desperately then, trying to avoid the offending red shell, but in doing so swerved _right_ off of the open edge of the road.

Laughing in triumph, Noctis surged into first place, and mockingly waved goodbye to Prompto over his shoulder. "Looks like the short plumber is running away with it," he announced.

"Cheating!" Prompto had abandoned his controller to just his left hand now. "Cheap shots! Unfair treatment!" He reached out with his now-free right hand and shoved at Noctis, pushing once, twice, three, four times and trying to knock _him_ off of the road, too. On the top half of the screen, Peach swerved from the edge again.

Noctis was still laughing quietly, but trying to continue the race. "You know, you're not going to be able to get back in competition if you keep shoving me!" But even with his words, he moved the controller to his right hand and shoved back at Prompto with his left. "And you call _me_ a cheater!" he commented.

Prompto leaned forward and waved a hand in front of Noctis' face. "WHOOPS, didn't mean to to that." He repeated the motion twice more, shouting, "or that!' with each movement, then reached past Noctis, trying to grab his controller out of his hand. Prompto's controller was completely abandoned now, and he was leaning over Noctis' body, reaching for his right hand.

"Hey, hey, whoa!" Noctis stretched his arm out of Prompto's reach completely, trying to ensure that, whatever battle his new friend was trying to fight, he wasn't going to win. "Who's cheating _now_?!"

But with a laugh, Prompto shrugged one shoulder. "Don't care!" he announced, continuing to reach for the controller.

Noctis moved his body so that his back leaned over the armrest of the couch and reached the controller over his head. "No _way_ I'm giving this controller up," he smirked with his whole face.

Prompto, who had been crawling over him in an attempt to grab the controller from his hand, was supporting himself with just one hand. One hand that slipped. Prompto fell, and in an attempt to keep him from hitting the table and hurting himself, Noctis abandoned the controller to the floor with a "whoa, careful!" and caught his friend with a hand on his ribs. The motion instead left him sprawled on top of Noctis' body on the couch. They were waist to waist, chest to chest, and Prompto's head hung over Noctis' shoulder.

He raised his head, though, and then the pair of them were eye to eye. Their chests heaved with the exertion of the horsing around that they'd been doing, and Noctis probably should have been trying to move them... but all he could focus on at the moment was how Prompto's freckles adorned his face like stars spotting the sky. Prompto's eyes studied Noctis' face, too, trailing from his eyes to his lips. All Noctis cared about was how distracting the violet-blue shade _in_ those eyes was.

Noctis was too dumbstruck to speak; to _move_. The pleasant haze of drunk that he felt seemed to have drained all possible commentary from his mind, anyway, so it didn't really matter. Instead, he just stared dumbly at Prompto's face, trying to gather his breath back from their horseplay, and swallowed thickly. Prompto's face was right in front of his. And for some reason, all Noctis wanted in the world was to lean forward and kiss him.

But before he could make any move to do so, from the table, his cell phone went off with an all too familiar ringtone. A ringtone that made his stomach drop.

"That's, uh... that's my dad..." he commented, maneuvering himself out from underneath Prompto. "I have to take that."

Prompto nodded his head and raked his teeth over his lip, moving so that he was sitting on the couch again. "No problem," he grinned a halfhearted grin.

Noctis frowned. Big problem, actually. But he didn't say as much. Instead, he pulled in a breath, tried to compose his brain so that he didn't sound drunk, and answered the phone. "H-hey dad," he answered, still a little bit breathless.

"You sound a little breathless. I trust all is well?" Regis greeted.

At first, he nodded. Then he realized that his dad couldn't _hear_ a nod, so he said, "yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I was out running," he lied.

Silence came through the other end of the line, and Noctis knew that his dad was probably suspicious. "Running," he responded, his tone level. But Noctis knew the level tone to be one of disbelief. 

"Yeah. Running," Noctis replied, proud of himself for seemingly keeping himself from slurring too much. "Iris and Gladio suggested it. Keeps my brain active." After a beat, and before his father could ask any further questions, he spoke again. "So, how was Accordo?" At the word Accordo, he turned to glance at Prompto, who had busied himself with glancing through Noctis' vinyl record collection.

For a moment, Regis' suspicion was obvious, as he didn't answer right away. But after a couple of seconds, he said, "our spring line will be all over the stores here in January. So, I'd call it a success. We also made a stop in Niflhiem to see how the manufacturers are doing. Unfortunately, we had to crack down on production a bit. Open up a few more factories," he explained.

His father continued speaking, but Noctis wasn't really paying attention anymore. Prompto filed through his record collection, examining each, front and back, smiling a halfhearted smile, seemingly intrigued by every different record he found. Most people saw his records as useless, and asked why he didn't use digital, or at _least_ CDs. But not Prompto. He seemed completely enrapt by each one. The tiniest of smiles ghosted Noctis' lips.

But immediately, it was dragged away. "Noctis!" his father shouted, in a voice so loud that it grabbed Prompto's attention from across the room.

"Yeah! Sorry, dad!" Noctis replied, glancing down at the floor. "I was, uh... I was reading something and-"

Huffing, Regis cut Noctis' apology off. "Are you _drunk_?" His tone was incredulous. "I've noticed a slight slurring in your speech. You don't seem quite as together as usual," he pointed out, his tone dangerous. Like he'd already figured Noctis out.

Noctis' heart felt like it was going to drop from his chest along with his stomach. He didn't answer. He'd never been a great liar—the fact that his dad apparently didn't believe his running story reminded him of that fact—and telling the truth wasn't an option at all. So, what was he really to do, other than stand there and curse himself for not being able to pretend that he was sober for just a _few_ minutes?

But his lack of an answer only seemed to invoke further wrath from his father. Regis laughed a humorless laugh. "Let me get this straight," he started. "I am paying a tens—hundreds!—of thousands of gil a year for you to go to that school, and you're wasting it by _drinking_?" His father's tone was incensed. Furious. Noctis had heard him angry like this before, when Noctis was in high school and failed an algebra exam. But that it was happening now, in front of Prompto... was humiliating.

And even worse was the fact that, for the next _half hour_ , Regis lectured him. On responsibility. On gratitude. On not wasting his life.

When he and his father finally said their terse goodbyes (only because Regis got another phone call), Noctis was barely holding back tears. And he didn't dare turn around and face Prompto. He was absolutely humiliated, down to his very core. He wanted to sink into the floor; disappear, so that he didn't have to face Prompto and explain what had just happened. His eyes burned with unshed tears, and without turning his head, he addressed Prompto.

"I'm surprised you didn't leave in the middle of that," he choked out.

Noctis expected an answer from across the room, but instead, he felt the warmth of Prompto's hand clasping his shoulder. "Takes more than that to scare me off," Prompto answered.

After smoothing a hand through his hair, Noctis finally turned to face Prompto. "You're one of the rare ones, then," he blinked back emotion and walked toward the bay window, taking a seat.

Surprisingly, Prompto followed, sitting beside Noctis and shrugging. "Rare... invested. Take your pick, really," he answered. "You okay? That sounded rough."

At first, Noctis was going to nod. He was going to tell Prompto that he was fine, that he could handle it. But with a cursory glance over at his friend, he suspected that Prompto wouldn't believe him. So, instead, he shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "You know, I'm not even sure I want the life that my dad has planned out for me?" he asked. "I mean, he has this grand plan. He owns this clothing company, okay? So, he works there for ten more years and retires when he hits sixty. I take over and run the company, while raising my future son or daughter to take over when _I_ retire." He glanced down at his hands where they were folded in his lap.

"Keeping it in the family," Prompto mused quietly, glumly.

Noctis nodded. "Forget that there are plenty of people in the company who _want_ it, and don't _need_ the training or schooling that I need. Forget that I _don't_ want it." He was completely unaware that he'd just gone from being 'unsure' that he wanted it, to not wanting it at all. "For-forget what would make _me_ happy... my future's set." He choked on the lump in his throat. "Pretty much in stone. Wouldn't be surprised if he even has a wife picked for me."

Prompto frowned, putting a hand on Noctis' bicep. "Why do you let him do it?" he asked.

With a shrug, Noctis turned his head sideways to meet Prompto's eye. "What else _can_ I do? I was essentially raised with these skills. When most kids were playing with toys or playing games and sports and music, I was being force-fed information on _capital expenditures_ and _buy-sell agreements_. If it wasn't for my friends, I wouldn't've known fun at all..." he muttered.

__"That doesn't mean that you can't figure out who you are now," Prompto commented. "He's not here. He can't-"_ _

__Noctis shook his head. "He can, though. He does," he explained. "You just saw how he does it. I'm having fun. Having a good night. He calls me, finds out, tells me I should be studying. And I..." He blinked again, and turned his head to look away from Prompto._ _

__"So? What's he going to do, take you _out_ of the business school that he's paid to put you in? _He_ can't stop you, Hero. The only one who can stop you from finding out what you want... finding out who _you_ are... is you." Noctis could hear the sad smile in Prompto's voice, and even though Noctis wasn't looking at him, it was obvious that _he_ was looking at _Noctis_._ _

__Noctis swallowed thickly. "I don't want to waste what's already been done, though. He's put so much work into-"_ _

__"-making you miserable," Prompto insisted. "But if you don't want to waste it, don't. It's too late to change classes now, anyway. So, stay in class. Keep doing what he wants you to in school hours. Do your schoolwork. Keep being a straight-A-superstar. But... outside of that? Be you. Play your music." He gestured toward Noctis' records. "Learn your guitar. Be with your friends and have fun. And if he calls you and tries to stop you... don't let it. You're screaming inside, Hero. I barely know you, and I see it. Let the screams out. And if, by some weird twist of fate, it turns out that you like that you better than the you that you find? It's no big deal."_ _

__Noctis examined Prompto's face again, blinking a couple of times. "Will you, um..." He raked his teeth over his lip. "Will you help me find me?" The question was kind of embarrassing, but Prompto was already seeing him at his worst. So, why not just keep it going?_ _

__Prompto smirked. "You don't even need to ask," he insisted._ _


	8. Stronger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
> _i wanted to be stronger, i wanted to be everything for you._  
>  _if I could be stronger, would you believe_  
>  _that i could love you like you want me to?_  
> [stronger](https://open.spotify.com/track/6cIGKs4Y33jby1ZbRXIpnV) \- clean bandit

Noctis took Prompto's advice to heart. And he'd been following it. He really had. He'd even picked his guitar up again. Since he and Prompto had promised to exchange skills in their crafts, and he'd promised to learn his favorite song, he was in the middle of doing just that, with the plan of revealing it to Prompto before break started. He'd about gotten it, too. The singing was the easy part; Noctis knew all the words and while his voice wasn't exactly the best, he could fake it. Prompto had never judged him, and Noctis didn't see it starting now. The hard part was a particular chord progression toward the end of the song. He'd been trying to get it right, but his fingers always fumbled a bit.

He was determined, though. It was going to be perfect before Prompto heard it.

But exams temporarily put a halt to that. For now, their study sessions actually entailed studying. They would sit in the student union together until long after dark, make flash cards and quiz each other... and even though their tests were very different, Noctis actually found himself learning bits and pieces about photography through their shared study sessions, too. Prompto told him all about his camera, and all about the camera he _really_ wanted, which had a shutter speed three times faster than the one he already had, a brighter flash, twice as strong zoom, panoramic capabilities, and a hundred megapixels.

 _"But by the time I can afford it,"_ he'd said earlier that day, _"there will probably be a thousand megapixel camera out there that'll cost about a million gil."_

As Noctis walked home with Iris, who'd been with them studying that day, he half-listened to her talking about how excited she was for her first away game after exams were over. She'd been talking about it since before they left the student union, of course, but the eagerness and excitement were infectious. "And Coach Cid said that he was gonna put me on the _starting line_ , Noct! Me and Aranea on the left and right of Cindy, can you believe it?!" she asked excitedly, pushing him with her shoulder.

"I can," he nodded, smiling proudly at her. "You were the hero of the first game. Down by two and then you get two in two minutes? They'd have to be insane not to start you."

Iris shrugged her shoulders. "Aranea and I have pretty good chemistry," she commented quietly, biting her lip and half-smiling as she glanced down at the ground. "She knows how to rally me, too. I was super nervous because of that penalty I took before that other girl scored, but she took me aside and reminded me that I had aced my tryout, and that I just needed to bring what I brought that day and we'd be back in it." When she looked back over at Noctis, her smile was endlessly proud.

Noctis nodded, like he wasn't surprised. "Which you did. And then you won. So, what's up with all the surprise at how awesome you are?" he asked her.

Smirking, Iris shrugged her shoulders. "I thought it was gonna be so hard to break into sports here," she admitted. "Gladdy's kinda the superstar, you know? It's hard breaking in when your big brother has so many records. Like, they might as well rename that trophy wall in the student union the Gladiolus Amicitia Appreciation Corner." She was trying to sound annoyed, but she really just sounded proud.

"Or maybe just the Amicitia Appreciation Corner, now. You're gonna break records everywhere, too. Already in the starting lineup after two games," he nudged her with his shoulder, shoving her lightly.

Iris lifted her head a little higher and nodded. "You're totally right. I can't let him have _all_ the fun." She paused, smoothing a hand through her hair and then glancing over at Noctis. "Have you noticed, by the way, that ever since they got back from that ski trip outside Tenebrae last month, they've been different? Like... clingier?" she straightened the bottom of her coat and pulled her gloves down further.

"Like how?" Noctis asked.

With a shrug, Iris chewed on her lip. "Just... _clingier_. I dunno. Dates twice a week instead of just once and they're just... sometimes I catch them smiling at each other across the room when they don't think I'm looking. Like, I know they're ridiculously in love and stupidly happy. But this is way more than they usually do," she pointed out.

Humming thoughtfully, Noctis shrugged a shoulder. "Maybe they just had a really good time skiing?" he asked.

"Noct." The word was spoken incredulously, like more of a statement than a question. Iris shook her head in disdain. "Don't be stupid, alright? Can you, even for a _split second_ , see Iggy skiing? He's totally the 'go to a ski lodge just to curl up with a cup of coffee and a book' type." She stuffed her hands into her coat pockets.

Noctis paused, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm sure Gladio could convince him, though. He'd do pretty much anything that Gladio asked him to," he mused.

And at that, Iris completely froze in her tracks. "Oh my goodness! I know what happened!" she exclaimed as she bounced in place, tugging on Noctis' arm to get him to stop and turn toward her. "Noct! You're totally right!" She nodded eagerly, yanking him by the arm as she jumped up and down in place.

"Huh?" Noctis arched an eyebrow, watching as Iris bounced like a fool.

She nodded again. "Iggy would _totally_ do anything that Gladdy asked him to, and vice versa. Which is what happened on that ski trip!" she brought her other hand up to her mouth, covering her lips and beaming with her whole face. "Oh my god, Noct! I know what happened! I totally know what happened!" She'd repeated the words three times already, but she seemed really excited about it, so Noctis decided to humor her.

But not without teasing her a little. "Well, are you going to let me in on the secret, or are you waiting for my psychic powers to develop?" he asked.

Rolling her eyes, the smile turned briefly into a look of annoyance. "Noct. Think about it! They went on a romantic skiing vacation. Iggy would do _anything_ Gladdy asked him to do! And vice versa! What do you think happened?!" she asked, the annoyance fading into glee again as she smiled internally _and_ externally about a secret only she seemed to understand.

Or, at the very least, Noctis didn't understand. "Are you talking about..." He paused, his eyes widening when he thought, maybe, the realization of what she'd been talking about dawned on him. " _Iris_ , I don't want to think about your brother and Iggy doing _that_! That's like thinking of my parents doing that and-"

Iris cut him off, annoyed, and scoffed. "Not _that_! Ugh, do you think _I_ want to think of my brother doing that, either? No! No, I don't!" She curled her lip and punched Noctis in the shoulder.

The punch hurt a lot more than her punches used to, which made it obvious that her time with the hockey team was making her even stronger. Noctis rubbed where her hand had impacted and shook his arm out. "Ow! Then what?!" he asked in surprise.

Huffing again, Iris crossed her arms at her chest and shook her head. "Noct," she spoke in an exasperated breath. "If you can't figure it out now, you _really are_ hopeless. I _think_ Gladdy or Iggy asked the other a _question_. A very important question. Because they've been acting way, way closer than they ever have before and the only way you can get closer than being boyfriends is..." She trailed off and rolled her hand, like she was leading him in a specific direction... or waiting for him to lead himself there.

"Oh!" Noctis' eyes widened. "Oh, you think one of them proposed?" he asked in surprise.

Iris nodded. "Either that or they already got married, and since I'm about ninety percent sure Gladdy—or at least Iggy—would be smart enough not to invoke my wrath by getting married without inviting me or having me be maid of honor, I don't think they'd do that. At least he'd better _hope_ he didn't." The last part was spoken with an exaggerated vengeful fury of a little sister potentially scorned.

Noctis couldn't help but laugh. "I'm pretty sure neither Gladio or Specs are dumb enough to invoke your wrath, Iris. Especially not since they're living with you," he mused.

She nodded. "Exactly. So, when we get home, we're getting to the bottom of it, because there is no way whatsoever that they're allowed to keep an engagement a secret from me!" Despite the anger she probably wanted to sound like she was portraying, her smile belied her words.

Noctis knew that Iris had always seen Ignis as another older brother. Even more so since he and Gladio had gotten together three years ago. She'd have, of course, been over the moon if the two of them got married. What surprised Noctis most of all was the fact that, if this was true, neither of them had been so bursting-at-the-seams with happiness that they spilled and told Iris, at the very least. It would definitely explain the subtle looks, though. And the increased date nights. With a little laugh, he turned to look at Iris.

"I'm surprised you don't want to be the flower girl," he teased.

She made a face at him. "Okay, one? _Shut up_. And two? Who says I can't be a flower girl _and_ a maid of honor?" she asked, nodding sagely.

Noctis chuckled softly as he turned the doorknob to get into the building. "So, what do we do, then?" he asked her with an amused shrug. "Do we let them keep living their little 'they have no clue' charade, or do we get an ans-"

He didn't even get to finish his sentence, because she hurried up the stairs, saying, "I'll _show_ you what we do." She waited for him to get to the top of the stairs, before bursting the doors open and calling out her usual greeting. "I'm _home!_ And so's Noct!" she announced, taking a glance around the living room.

Gladio sat beside Ignis on the couch, their textbooks open on the table in front of them. Across the room, dinner simmered in a pan, and the whole apartment smelled like some kind of fish. Salmon, maybe? He remembered Ignis saying that he'd picked up some salmon, and it had a distinctive lemon pepper salmon smell to it. When the door opened, Ignis glanced up from his book and Gladio looked across the room to nod his head in greeting. Noctis couldn't help but notice that they were dressed a little too nicely for simply sitting around and studying.

"How was studying?" Ignis asked with an all-too-casual air about him.

Iris nodded. "Good! Prompto and I are about a hundred percent ready for our communication final. And Noct said he was readier for his marketing one," she announced, pointing at Noctis.

With a chuckle, Noctis nodded. "Readier, yeah. I'll probably still need to hit the books after dinner, but I'm getting there." Admittedly, now that he was trying to find himself, it was harder to focus on studying these things that he didn't really care about. And it was less than helpful when, in his alone studying time, he occasionally found his mind drifting back to when Prompto's body was draped over his, with his face inches away from Noctis' face, his eyes on Noctis' lips... Blinking hard to dispel that thought before it could form any more than it already had, he turned to watch Iris as she moved toward the kitchen.

Pulling herself up onto a stool at the island counter, she reached into her backpack and pulled out her laptop. "Yeah, maybe Iggy can help you tonight," she suggested, turning to look at Ignis with a shrug.

Ignis turned to look at Gladio, then back over at Noctis. "After Gladio and I get back from the movies, I'd be happy to," he offered.

"Another date?" Iris asked with an arched eyebrow. "I'm shocked Gladdy was able to convince you to go out so close to exams!" Her tone was quite obviously teasing, but also inquisitive... like this was all just a part of her grand plan.

Gladio shrugged one shoulder. "It's not as hard as you think," he suggested.

And Iris nodded. "I guess not."

Ignis nodded and shrugged his head to the side. "Besides, we've been studying bits and pieces every night so far this year. We're already prepared, I believe. We're just making absolutely sure at the moment," he explained.

While the exchange was taking place, Noctis had shucked his jacket and moved over to sit in one of the recliners. He reached into his messenger bag for his marketing textbook, opening it to where he'd left off at the table with Prompto. Much to his surprise, rather than being face to face with a graph, he was face to face with a photograph of himself with Iris, laughing about a joke that she'd told at their study table a couple of days ago. A note, written in familiar thin-but-easy-to-decipher handwriting on a green post-it note and stuck to the page, simply said 'Don't overdo it, Hero.'

Noctis couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face as he looked from the note to the photo. Using the motion of reaching for his laptop, he moved them back into his bag, and after running his teeth over his lips, glanced back up around the room. It seemed like everyone was too busy with their studies to bother with him, which was just as well because he didn't want to answer too many questions.

Ignis got up to cross the room and tend to the salmon in the pan, and Iris' grand plan seemed to go into motion in that moment. She hopped down from the stool and crossed the room, plopping down next to her brother and glancing over his shoulder at his biomechanics book. "So, Gladdy," she started, her tone casual.

"So, Iris," Gladio responded, leaning his book down onto his lap and arching an eyebrow at her.

She turned to look at Ignis, then back at Gladio, grinning a little. "Noct and I think you and Iggy are hiding an engagement from us."

That was her grand plan. Noctis was unable to stifle a laugh as he glanced up from his laptop to say, "to be fair, it was more Iris who came to that conclusion. But yeah, we've noticed that you're hiding _something_ from us. So, either it's an engagement or that you're already married or something else entirely. Color us curious." But rather than press the issue, he just went silent and waited for them to confirm or deny its truth.

Ignis was looking at Gladio from the kitchen, and he pressed his lips together. Gladio shrugged, then Ignis shrugged too, before reaching beneath his shirt and pulling out a small silver chain. At the end of the chain sat a silver band, with green jewels encrusted in it. He held the ring in his hand, displaying it for Iris and Noctis to see, smiled and announced, "it appears we've been caught."

"The plan was to tell you after exams. You know, so that Iris didn't get so excited planning a party, which I know she'll want to do, that she forgets to study." Gladio glanced at his sister with a loving-but-teasing smile. "But yeah. I asked Iggy to marry me."

Iris was out of her seat in an instant, before stepping in to lean down and hug Gladio around the neck. " _Finally_!" she squealed.

Gladio laughed. "Don't go too overboard right now, alright, Iris?" he asked, an obvious big brother tone in his voice. "After exams-"

Sighing a heavy, put upon sigh, Iris nodded. "I know, I know. But this is _amazing_! You guys are totally the couple I want my rel-" she stopped short, before continuing- "my future relationship to be like. You've been happy since forever, and you never stay fighting for long and... this is just _so exciting_!" She rushed across the room to hug Ignis.

Noctis' own happiness was more internal, of course, but definitely still there. "Seriously," he commented with a smile, in lieu of any kind of Iris-level bouncy reaction. "Congrats, you guys."

With a lopsided grin on his face, Gladio turned to look at Noctis. "Thanks, man," he nodded once, squarely. "Feels kinda like it's been a long time coming. But the ski lodge seemed like the perfect place for it, ya know?" He shrugged one shoulder. "Think I'd had the ring for about a year. Been thinkin' about it on and off since the end of last school year, but I never expected him to answer as quickly as he did. Didn't even get to finish the question." With a fond smile, he turned to look at Ignis.

Ignis smiled back at him over Iris' shoulder, then turned back to the pot to flip the salmon. "If he hadn't, I'd been thinking about it, too. I hadn't gone out to get a ring yet," he confessed, "but it was always in the corner of my mind." He reached over to the other pots on the stove and poured the vegetables and rice into the pan.

In the corner of his mind, the tiniest pang of jealousy arose. It seemed so easy for them to go for what made them happy; so easy for them. Because it seemed like they looked at each other, and saw everything that mattered in the world. But it was easy enough to ignore it, because he was genuinely happy for his friends. That moment, though, he found his mind wandering to Prompto. Never before had he had any reason to question his sexuality. He'd never looked at another guy and felt that 'this is it' feeling... but with Prompto, there was something there that he'd never felt. Not with any of his high school girlfriends or any of the girls he'd developed crushes on.

There was something about Prompto's spirit, about his smile and about the way he always seemed to be willing to do whatever he could to make _Noctis_ smile... that made him think and feel things he'd never felt before in his life.

His eyes staring, unreading, at his laptop, he sank his teeth into his lower lip. _Maybe,_ he thought, _maybe, this is it?_

"You okay, Noct?" Gladio asked him.

As awareness of the world came back to him, he glanced around the room. Iris was helping Ignis with dinner, already doing exactly what Gladio had asked her not to do and getting endlessly excited about planning for a wedding that didn't even have a date yet. Ignis was humoring her—or maybe he wasn't, because he seemed equally as excited about their discussion as she was, in his way—while he set the counter for their meal. Gladio was eyeing Noctis closely, though, and looked slightly concerned.

But Noctis just nodded. "Yeah," he answered. "Yeah, I'm fine."

And for once, he actually meant it.


	9. So Contagious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
> _could this be out of line;_  
>  _to say you're the only one breaking me down like this?_  
>  _you're the only one i would take a shot on;_  
>  _keep me hanging on so contagiously._  
> [so contagious](https://open.spotify.com/track/3Nnm4EROP8wEnMpcmapvLR) \- acceptance

Exams were finally over. The week had been long and painful, exhausting to the point that Noctis was ready to do _anything_ but look at another book for the foreseeable future. He was confident enough that he'd done well. The only thing he really worried about in the slightest was his marketing final. He hadn't been able to focus at all during that test. But at the very least, he was sure he'd managed to pull an A-. So, he had nothing to worry about. Especially now, since vacation was coming up. Now, he could put more focus toward finding himself and figuring out who he was underneath everything his dad had created.

And Prompto. He could focus on Prompto, too. 

The first thing he'd done when he'd gotten out of his last exam—a dreadfully boring series of econ essay questions—was headed to the coffee shop, where he knew Prompto would be working for the next couple of hours. Most everyone around him chatted about where they'd be going for the post-exam break, but since Noctis' dad was going on another extended business trip in Niflheim to oversee the rebuilding of one of their factories, that wasn't in the cards for Noctis. Regis would be gone until late January, so Noctis (as well as the Amicitias, since their father was accompanying Noctis'; and Ignis, since there was no way he'd leave without Gladio) was spending the break—as well as the upcoming Christmas break—in town. Iris and Ignis seemed alarmingly excited, and they had big plans to cook a massive Thanksgiving dinner for the group. Aranea and Prompto had been invited as well, since they were both going to be in town for the holiday, and they'd both readily accepted.

Most people that Noctis had told about the arrangement, about how he was staying in town and not going home, thought that he would be devastated. He wasn't. Not even a little bit. He wasn't sure what the Thanksgiving holiday with his friends would be like, but he was sure that it would be better than the terse dinners with his father usually were.

As Noctis and Prompto walked back to Prompto's apartment so he could pick up his camera, Noctis had finally deemed it safe to tell his new friend about Ignis and Gladio's engagement. He'd gotten permission first, of course, which Ignis had given without question. It was surprising, but at the same time it kind of wasn't. Ignis and Gladio had never really been all that secretive about the fact that they loved each other. Subtle, sure; they never really made out in public, but they weren't afraid of touching hands or brushing against each other either. And they _definitely_ weren't the type to be ashamed of their relationship for any reason at all.

So, he'd told Prompto that Gladio and Ignis were together in the gentlest way he possibly could. Prompto had become a member of their group, was friends with everyone, and Noctis had gotten permission, so hiding it seemed pointless. He would've figured it out on his own sooner or later, without Noctis' help. So, he'd just come out and said it. And when he did, he was utterly surprised by Prompto's reaction.

"I know," he said with a nod.

Noctis blinked a couple of times. "Wait, you _know_?" he asked, stopping in his tracks.

Prompto, who was a couple of steps ahead of him, turned around and smirked a little half-smirk. "Yeah, I know." He pushed some of his bangs from his face.

With a soft chuckle, Noctis shook his head. "Of course you know. I shouldn't be surprised. Although, I'm kind of curious as to how." He mirrored Prompto's smirk and strode a couple of steps to catch up with his friend.

Really, though, he shouldn't have wondered. Prompto seemed to be pretty perceptive. He'd picked up on Noctis' issues with his father, that he was 'screaming inside,' before Noctis had ever said anything. And he always seemed to be there with a smile and a kind word when Noctis needed it. So, no. He shouldn't have wondered at all. But he couldn't help but be a little curious how he'd gotten so good at it.

Smiling, Prompto shrugged his head to the side. "Just in how they act around each other. When Ignis looks at Gladio, it's like there's literally no one else in the room. And when Gladio looks at Ignis, it's like he'd die to keep him safe." The smile on his face became wistful then, and the slightest pang of jealousy appeared in his expression. Just as quickly as it appeared, though, it was gone. "They love each other. You'd have to be an idiot not to see," he explained with a singular nod, putting his hands in his coat pockets. "I've seen them communicating without ever saying a word to each other, too. Like the first night I met them, when Ignis was dishing out the food and got to Gladio's bowl, they had a whole conversation about whether or not Gladio needed more stew than what Ignis initially dished, without even opening their mouths." He chuckled softly.

"Really?" Noctis arched an eyebrow.

Prompto laughed again. "Yeah. Ignis did this little forehead motion down to Gladio's bowl, Gladio shook his head no, Ignis arched his eyebrow, Gladio smirked, and then Ignis dished him out a bit more," he explained, doing each motion as he described them. "You could almost hear the 'That good?' 'Nah, more.' 'Really?' 'Yeah, really.' It was hilarious."

Noctis was grinning, but he also had to ask, "and that showed you that they were in a relationship?"

Once again, Prompto nodded. "Yeah. When you're with someone, and you've clearly been together for a long time like they have, you just learn each other. What every little eyebrow raise or half-smile means. When they're happy or sad. When they mean what they say and when they're lying." He paused and glanced down at the ground in front of his feet. "At least I assume so." His tone was soft and uncertain.

"I wouldn't know," Noctis admitted. "But it does make sense. And they do stuff like that all the time."

Prompto turned his head to look at Noctis again, bright blue eyes questioning. "Why did you feel the need to tell me, though?" he asked. "It isn't like it's some sordid affair, right? They're not hiding it or anything." He pointed down a side street, directing Noctis to his apartment.

Noctis followed Prompto's direction and shrugged. "Because they're getting married," he explained. "And they wanted me to tell the important people."

For a second, Prompto looked at him in surprise. "Important people?" he asked, his tone mirroring the surprise on his face.

"Yeah," Noctis answered.

Prompto smiled a little bit, then glanced back ahead of him. "Important people, huh?" he repeated to himself, then went quiet for a couple of seconds, before continuing. "Well, that's awesome. Good for them. You'd have to be blind not to see how happy they make each other, so it's good that they're locking it down."

It seemed like all Prompto did was surprise Noctis. Admittedly, a second part of him was a little bit anxious to tell Prompto about the wedding, because he was a little afraid to hear his take on same-sex couples. Lucis was pretty divided on the situation. A lot of people in school weren't kind about it. Certain sects in the dorms were very outward about it, and there had been incidents of the past of people being hurt—beaten up, bloodied, almost killed—just for who they loved. It worried him sometimes, for Gladio and Ignis' sake, but his two friends always seemed to face it bravely, not caring what those people thought or said about them. Gladio wouldn't take anything sitting down, anyway.

Then again, Prompto being as cool as he was about everything... it shouldn't have surprised him at all. He couldn't see Prompto as one of those people. One of the types that would hurt someone for something they couldn't control; couldn't change. And that gave him more relief than he could properly express.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Noctis asked, "So, it doesn't bother you? Both of them being guys, I mean? Not that it should, or anything."

Prompto shook his head and chuckled softly, looking bashfully down at the ground. "No, Hero. It doesn't bother me," he remarked teasingly.

"What?" Noctis asked. "What's with that tone?"

With a quiet breath of laughter, Prompto looked around, at the people walking the streets, hurried to get out of the late autumn chill. He raked his teeth over his lower lip in thought, then glanced over toward the park not too far from where they stood. "Walk with me. I'll tell you," he suggested, and didn't wait for an answer before grabbing Noctis by the wrist and pulling him toward the park.

The walk turned into more of a jog, but Noctis willingly hurried behind Prompto through the mostly-empty park, until they came to a bench in front of a duck pond that was just barely beginning to freeze over. Ice floated like a flotilla of chilly ships, and it made Noctis even more aware of the fact that they were getting very close to the winter months. Noctis let his hand drop back to his side when Prompto let it go, and slid it back into his coat pocket. When Prompto lowered himself to sit on the bench, Noctis followed behind and looked over at his friend, wondering why he hadn't spoken up yet. He'd been in a rush to get here, but now that they were here, he was quiet. Like he was doubting himself, or nervous about something.

Noctis wondered what in the world could be making _him_ nervous about _anything_. In the time they'd known each other, Prompto had faced almost everything with a brave smile. Everything, that is, except for talk of Accordo. Except for talk about himself.

"It's funny, because... I thought it'd be easy for me to tell you this," Prompto started, "but it isn't. I still will, though. Because I said I would."

With a hand in his hair, Prompto glanced down at the half-icy pond, and Noctis found himself turning to follow. He watched Prompto's face in the reflection in the water in front of them. The expression on his friend's reflection made Noctis turn his head back up and look at him in encouragement. "It's okay," he reassured Prompto. Whatever Prompto had to say, it wouldn't matter. It'd take something pretty drastic to make Noctis not want to be around him anymore.

Prompto nodded. His eyes scanned the area around them, looking for outside eyes most likely, before shrugging one shoulder. "I'd never judge someone for being gay," he admitted, his voice a whisper that only Noctis could hear. "Wouldn't be very fair of me, you know? Since I am, too?"

Whatever Noctis was expecting, though, that wasn't it. He glanced back down at Prompto's reflection, noting that his friend's water-rippled face was terrified. Nervous. He looked like he expected the bench to be snatched out from under him. Like he expected...

...like he expected Noctis to leave.

But that was crazy. He'd more or less just said that he didn't have a problem with men who liked other men. He'd been best friends with Ignis and Gladio for ages. And he didn't care if Prompto was gay or straight or what he was. He was still the best person to come into Noctis' life in a long, long time.

Or maybe he did care. He cared quite a bit, actually. But not in the sense that it seemed Prompto thought he would care. The only thing that was different, really, was the fact that this complicated his feelings a bit. He'd almost kissed Prompto on the couch a few weeks ago. While he was sure that Prompto didn't have a crush on _him_... and he wasn't even sure if he had a crush on _Prompto_ —hell, he wasn't even sure if he was _gay_ or anything—it still added an interesting layer to the whole situation.

"Can you... can you say something, please?" Prompto asked quietly.

Noctis swallowed nervously and shrugged his shoulder. "I always thought you were into Iris," he admitted.

Prompto managed a laugh and shook his head no. "Not only is she not my type-" he shook his head no- "I'm pretty sure I'm not hers, either." He was smirking a little bit, but there was still a little bit of sadness, a little bit of worry behind his eyes.

Wetting his lips nervously, Noctis leaned over and nudged Prompto with his shoulder. "Sorry," he announced. "I was just taken off-guard. I really thought, in the beginning, that you were interested in Iris. You seemed really interested in knowing when I met her, or knowing if I was one of her roommates. Or how she and I-"

But Prompto cut him off with a self-deprecating laugh. "Exactly," he commented softly. "How long Iris and _you_ had known each other..." He breathed a nervous, chuckling breath. "If _you_ were one of her roommates. If... if _you_ were special to her..." He finally turned to look at Noctis. "Iris is my friend and I adore her. But I wasn't asking all of those questions because of her, Hero." His cheeks were dusted red, bringing out the speckling of freckles even more. He looked nervous, too. Like he was afraid that he'd just said something that Noctis didn't want to hear.

For a second, though, Noctis didn't understand. But only for a second. It dawned on him, and he blinked a couple of times. "Me...?" he asked, stunned.

"Yeah. You," Prompto admitted, turning to look away, at the cement at his feet. "Pretty much from the second you sidewalk speedbumped me off my feet." He clasped his hands in his lap and steepled his thumbs, staring at them. "I know it's insane. I mean, you've never even given me any indication that you're interested in guys, let alone interested in me, but I-"

Noctis wasn't sure what came over him in that moment. Maybe it was the knowledge that he wasn't crazy; that Prompto was just as interested in him as he thought maybe he was in Prompto. Or maybe it was the fact that he'd resolved the other day that this was very much a 'this is it' feeling. Whatever it was, though, it made him reach a hand out and place his fingertips on Prompto's jaw, turning his face so that they were looking at each other. He looked at Prompto's stunned expression as those bright blue eyes looked back at him, and then dropped his eyes down to Prompto's lips.

And then, he closed the distance between them and pressed their lips together.

It was sloppy. Noctis didn't have a whole lot of experience with kissing. It wasn't his _first_ kiss or anything, but he didn't have a whole ton of kissing under his belt, either. In fact, it started at the corner of Prompto's mouth, before he settled in properly against his friend's lips. It was a chaste kiss, merely a touch of lips to lips, but what it lacked in intensity, it definitely made up for with the 'this _is_ it' feeling that coursed through Noctis' veins. He'd heard the term 'sparks flying' many times before, mostly in cheesy romance movies or songs that he watched or listened to on dates, or he caught Iris watching or listening to. He'd never put much stock in it before, but right now, it was the only appropriate term to describe how he was feeling. His heart hammered in his chest, and he really just didn't want this feeling to end.

Eventually, though, when he broke their lips apart, he fluttered his eyes back open and looked at Prompto like he was just as surprised at what happened as Prompto inevitably had to be.

Except, Prompto was grinning, even through his surprise. "Wow..." he murmured.

"Yeah," Noctis replied, his cheeks red as he swallowed back the nervous lump that had just formed in his throat.

Prompto cleared his throat, some of the self-consciousness coming back to his expression. "You, um... you didn't do that just because I said I was interested in you, did you? Because I have to tell you, I'm almost definitely not the only person around here that's interested in you. I catch people looking at you all the time, and I-"

But Noctis shook his head no. "N-no. No, that's not why," he insisted. He bit his lip and dared himself to reach a hand out to touch Prompto's. At first, the touch was tentative, but then he ended up draping his hand softly over Prompto's hand.

It seemed, at first, like Prompto was a little bit nervous about their hands being entwined like that, but eventually, he relaxed into the touch, and turned to glance up at Noctis. "Well then..." He shrugged his head to one side, then chewed on his lip. "Why?"

Noctis breathed a nervous breath of the cold late-autumn air into his nose, before forcing himself to meet Prompto's eyes. Prompto wanted to know why he'd done that? With a lopsided grin, and in a voice so quiet that even Prompto probably even had to strain to hear it, he said, "because I think I like you, too."

"Me?" Prompto asked, shocked.

And Noctis nodded. "Yeah. I don't, you know, have a lot of experience with things like this. But I do know that when I'm with you, there's something I've never felt." _All_ the things he'd never felt, more like. Nothing else mattered quite as much. His grades were secondary. Being the man his father wanted him to was secondary. When he was with Prompto, he wanted to be himself... even if he didn't know who he was yet. He swallowed thickly. With full intent to articulate everything he'd just said, he opened his mouth, but instead, all that came out was, "something I like."

Prompto's smile was very distracting, as was the way he said, "me too," with a demure nod. He wasn't sure what part of the statement Prompto was agreeing with, but whatever one it was, it was good to hear.

Perhaps the fact that he was so distracted by sharing shy smiles with Prompto wasn't such a good thing, however. A few yards behind them, the pair failed to notice a retreating figure, tipping his hat over his eyes with a Cheshire smile on his face...


	10. Happy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
> _clap along if you feel like a room without a roof!_  
>  _clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth!_  
>  _clap along if you know what happiness is to you!_  
> [happy](https://open.spotify.com/track/6Elppf27xIWxd6xrf25kez) \- boyce avenue (pharrell williams cover)

Whatever Noctis had thought Ignis and Iris were going to put together for Thanksgiving dinner... they'd completely outdone themselves. The whole of the counter was full of food. A roast behemoth tenderloin and some chickatrice meat, mashed potatoes—both sweet and regular—a wide array of vegetables that Ignis had practically had to force Noctis to even touch, and more desserts than he'd ever seen in his life. And they'd spent the past half hour putting all of the leftovers away. Not an easy task when a person felt like they were fifty pounds heavier than they'd been before a meal.

While Aranea and Prompto washed the dishes, Gladio and Iris stacked all of the Tupperware containers into the fridge, leaving Noctis to take the trash out, while Ignis came downstairs with him to get a couple of extra Tupperware containers that he'd bought from his car.

"You know," Ignis mused as he stepped out of Noctis' way so that he could get to the doorway. "I'm surprised you don't use your car more. You seem content to be walking around a lot more."

Noctis nodded. "You'd think I would, right? But when I'm going somewhere with Iris, she always wants to walk so that she can 'work on leg strength' or whatever. And when I'm with Prompto..." He paused then, ticking his shoulder upward in a shrug as he glanced sheepishly at his hands wrapped around the large black plastic bag.

When he was with Prompto, he wasn't in a rush to get anywhere. They'd been together a lot since Noctis kissed him in the park last week. He'd stay at the apartment until well after dark, and Noctis would walk him home. They went on photography walks together; Prompto liked to take pictures of everything, including Noctis sometimes, which made him feel a little bit sheepish... but he let Prompto do it all the same. Last night, Prompto had come prepared to crash on the couch, too. Noctis liked that, because it had meant that first thing in the morning, they were right back together again. When he was with Prompto... he didn't feel the need to rush anything.

"You don't feel the need to go faster to keep up with the world anymore, right?" Ignis finished the sentence for him, since he'd left it hanging in the middle.

Without answering verbally, Noctis turned his eyes down to the floor of the garage and worried his lip in his mouth. He nodded then, shouldering the trash bag and breathing a soft and embarrassed laugh. But maybe this was perfect. Maybe Ignis was exactly the person to talk to about this. No one he knew in the whole world had a more successful and happy relationship than Ignis and Gladio did. Maybe Ignis would be able to help him piece together exactly what was going on in his mind. He glanced back up at his friend as he reached for the doorknob. "Will you come with me for a second?" he asked.

Ignis nodded his head. "Of course," he answered, walking out into the chilly air with Noctis.

Outside, the streets were emptier than Noctis had ever remembered seeing them. Most businesses were closed for the day, which was the only reason that Prompto had been able to come over for dinner. The coffee shop wasn't closed, but they didn't need as much staff as they usually did, so he'd gotten the day off. Most people were too busy inside eating or recovering from eating too much to walk around outside. The cold air woke him up a bit, though, and he turned to Ignis.

"Dinner was great," Noctis told his friend, in lieu of jumping right into the topic at hand.

Ignis smiled subtly and nodded his gratitude to Noctis. "Iris helped a lot. She actually told me the secret recipe that the Amicitia cooks use for their cherry tarts, and was impressed when I made it different by changing one little thing in the filling." He leaned against the side of the building while Noctis walked over to the trash and threw the giant bag into the dumpster.

Turning once the top of the dumpster was closed again, Noctis nodded and smiled. "She's been doing exactly what Gladio thought she'd do, too. Obsessively planning the wedding. Has she been letting you do any of it?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

But Ignis nodded. "Oh, yes. She takes everything I suggest into consideration and actually has quite a few genius ideas. We mentioned that we wanted small, so she suggested we do it someplace private. We said we really just wanted it to be us-" he paused to motion around him- "since Mr. Amicitia isn't over-fond of the idea of us being together still. So, she suggested that we find someone who's ordained—Iris mentioned that her hockey coach Cid is ordained, and would happily do it—and someplace on campus that's easy to access, but also private."

There was no bitterness or sadness in Ignis' tone when he spoke of Gladio and Iris' father, and Noctis found himself surprised and impressed. He admired exactly how Gladio and Ignis faced adversities like that. They never let it shake their love for each other, and just pushed past it, always affirming their feelings and continuing to be together, no matter what.

"The roof?" Noctis suggested. "Of Archean Hall, even. It has that little gazebo on it that would be perfect for you two to stand in."

Ignis' eyes widened, like he hadn't thought of that before, and he nodded gratefully at Noctis. "We had been wondering exactly where to have it," he admitted. "But that is a brilliant idea. We walk around the quad out there all the time after we go on dates, so it's perfect. I'll bring it up to Gladio, and I'm sure he'll love it." He squeezed a hand around Noctis' shoulder gratefully.

Noctis was glad, if surprised, to have helped Ignis out there, but he nodded. "Let me know if there's anything else I can do," he suggested.

With a nod, Ignis let his hand fall back to his side. "I'm reasonably sure you didn't call me out here to talk to me about the wedding, though, so why don't you tell me what you really wanted to say? We have until spring to make wedding plans," he pointed out with a gentle smile.

Noctis, of course, should have known that he would only be able to fall back on the buffer of 'distract Ignis with wedding talk' for so long. But that was okay, because the question he wanted to ask was an important one. And regardless of the fact that he'd been considering it in his own mind for awhile now, he'd made no headway in finding an answer.

"Right," he murmured, biting his lip nervously. "I wanted to ask you a question."

Ignis nodded. "Anything," he insisted.

Asking it in his head was very, very different from saying it aloud, though. He'd asked himself a hundred thousand times. A million, even. But when the words came out of his mouth this time, they turned into a jumbled mess. "How... how did you know you were... you know, um... gay? And... how did you know when... when you were in love with Gladio?" His whole face was red, and if there was any hope of hiding the fact that he was actually talking about himself, it was thrown out the window now.

But Ignis didn't seem bothered. In fact, he laughed a soft, gentle laugh and tilted his head to the side. "The two coincided, actually," he admitted.

"How?" Noctis asked.

Ignis shrugged one shoulder. "I never really had a grand realization," he explained calmly. "It was simply that things just felt... right." He glanced at the ring, which he'd put on his finger since they'd allowed Noctis and Iris to start telling people.

Felt right. Noctis sort of had a feeling that he understood what Ignis was talking about, but he wanted to be absolutely sure. "Right?" he pried.

With a nod, Ignis continued. "It's hard to explain," he started. But he didn't let that stop him from continuing. "You know how I am. I don't like fog in my world. I like everything to be simple and straightforward. Clear as a blue sky. Certain. I realized that when I'm with Gladio, there's never fog. Things always feel right; safe. Good." He paused. "I don't think it's so much about gender. I think it's just about finding that one person that makes the whole world around you spin a little less. Gladio always has, and always will, be that person for me."

Noctis managed a smile. "That's awesome, though. I'm glad you guys are so happy," he told Ignis.

"I suspect," Ignis suggested, "that this is about you. And Prompto."

The surprise on Noctis' face likely belied any denial that he may have wanted to give. His eyes shot open wide, and then he turned to glance at the snow on the ground. "Figured me out, huh?" he asked. He shouldn't have been surprised, though. Ignis was usually pretty good at figuring him out. "I kissed him..." He felt his cheeks heating up. "I... I like him a lot. When I'm with him, it's like..." Noctis trailed off then, unsure about how to finish that sentence.

But Ignis, it seemed, had it covered. "You want to slow the passage of time," he suggested. "You want there to be more hours in the day so that you can be together more. Right?"

Noctis didn't quite have the words, but it seemed like Ignis did. Because that was absolutely correct; absolutely how he felt. He nodded sheepishly, before glancing up at the balcony on the outside of his room. "There's something about him, you know? I don't think I've ever felt the way I do around him before." He didn't go any further than that, but he suspected he didn't need to. If anyone knew what love felt like, it was Ignis.

"What do you want to do about it?" Ignis asked.

Swallowing nervously, Noctis shrugged. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "Like I said, I've... you know... never felt like this before. I just..." He paused, wetting his lips and chuckling awkwardly. "I want to be with him all the time. I think about him when he leaves. I practically count down the minutes until I'm with him again..." Noctis huffed a breath of laughter, eyeing the pavement. "And apparently I sound like a teen romance novel when I talk to my best friends. I'm just glad it was you and not Gladio," he mused.

Ignis reached over and placed a hand on Noctis' shoulder. "You know what I think?" he asked to get Noctis' attention from the ground.

Noctis looked up. "What?"

"I don't think you need to ask me what it felt like when I fell in love," Ignis offered. "I think you already know."

With his cheeks heating up, Noctis shrugged a shoulder. "I don't know," he admitted. "The feelings are still pretty new. But I do know that you were right about me wanting there to be more hours in the day. And that I really do feel happy when I'm with him. You know, I picked my guitar up again because of him? We're doing an exchange. I play him a song and he shows me some of his pictures." He quirked a little smile.

Ignis smiled, too. He'd always been a supporter of Noctis' music, and was the one who'd convinced Noctis _not_ to sell his guitar when his father had insisted he quit music classes. "I've heard you practicing. You're getting quite good," he encouraged.

Noctis shrugged one shoulder. "Thanks," he replied.

"If I may make a suggestion," Ignis started, and without waiting for an answer, he continued. "Don't rush things. I'm sure Prompto won't care if you take it slow. Try and go on a date or two with him. But don't be afraid to let what happens happen, either. Usually, if you want to do something like kiss someone or confess your feelings, and you can't figure out why you want to do it, that's your mind's way of telling you that it's the right thing to do."

The right thing to do. Noctis pondered that for a moment, then thought back to sitting on that bench in the park with Prompto. He'd looked so nervous, but so... so _beautiful_ at the same time. His cheeks were flushed pink, his eyes were wide with surprise; it _had_ felt like the right thing to do. He considered Ignis' words, then bit at his index fingernail for a couple of seconds before nodding his head. Taking it slow was a good idea. Noctis liked Prompto, Prompto liked Noctis; was there any need to label it or make it over-complicated until he was more sure about his own feelings?

Well, he was reasonably sure. But there was no such thing as being too certain.

Noctis nodded. "That's good advice. Thanks, Specs. Do you think I should talk to him about it?"

Ignis, too, nodded. "One of the most important things about building a good relationship is communication. You should absolutely tell him," he explained.

Before Noctis could ask any more questions, the front door to the building opened, and Iris peeked her head out to look at them. "Yeesh, I didn't think it took this long to take trash out," she teased. 

Ignis chuckled softly. "Apologies," he offered. "Just having a little chat."

"Everything alright?" Iris asked, looking from Ignis to Noctis.

Noctis nodded. "Yeah. Everything's good." Better than good, actually. But he didn't bring that up.

With a nod, Iris' expression suddenly got a bit nervous. "Can you guys come back up? I wanted to say something, but I wanted to say it to everyone at the same time... you know. Not repeat myself if I don't have to?" She bit her lip.

It was unusual to see her so embarrassed, which led Noctis to believe that whatever this was, it was something pretty serious. But he nodded. "Yeah, sure."

Iris busied herself with talking to Ignis about how she wanted to remake the roast the same way they had that day, on Christmas day. She chattered away as she usually did, but Noctis couldn't help but notice that she looked slightly more nervous than usual. She wouldn't let Ignis get a word in edgewise, wouldn't meet either of their gaze, and her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. What was she going to tell them?

They got upstairs, and Noctis looked around the living room to see Prompto, Gladio, and Aranea already sitting in the living room. Prompto sat in front of—not in—Noctis' favorite chair. There was room for Ignis between Aranea and Gladio on the couch. Noctis took his spot in his chair with a smile, glancing down at Prompto when he leaned against the side of the chair. Admittedly, Noctis kind of wanted him to sit in the front and lean against him. Swallowing nervously, he leaned over and said, "you can sit in front of me, if you want. And lean against the chair."

Prompto smiled sheepishly, but nodded once and moved his body in a swift motion to sit in front of Noctis. He rested his elbow against one of Noctis' knees and made himself comfortable, leaning his head back to look upside down at Noctis. "This okay?" he whispered.

"Perfect." Noctis nodded, then turned to look at Gladio, who was looking at them with an eyebrow raised. He smiled a nervous smile and shrugged one shoulder.

Ignis leaned into Gladio and whispered, "I'll explain later," before giving Noctis a smile, then turned to Iris.

"So," Prompto, too, was looking at Iris. "What's this all about?"

Iris looked at Aranea, who smiled reassuringly at her, then cleared her throat. "Okay, so... I know this isn't really a _huge_ deal or anything, but um... I've been keeping a secret from you guys, kind of." She smoothed a hand through her hair, fidgeting her hands a bit, and Noctis couldn't help but muse that he had never seen her look so nervous before. "I'm... I'm gay," she explained. "And I'm in a relationship with Aranea. I know you guys are probably the best people ever to come out to because Gladdy and Iggy are gay and everyone's cool with it, but it's still really, really hard to say because it's like really, really taboo in school and I really just hope that you're cool with who I fell for because I really, really love her and I want you to be happy with it." The whole last part of the statement was spoken in one breath, and she gasped for air at the end, looking around the room from face to face, trying to gauge their reactions.

The first reaction came from Gladio, who laughed softly and looked at her like he was actually relieved. "You think I didn't know?" he asked her.

"Huh?" Iris blinked a couple of times, turning to look at Gladio.

Ignis joined in, too. "My first clue came when I woke up to start making breakfast about a month or so ago, and Aranea was already in the kitchen making coffee," he explained. "We figured you would tell us when you were ready, but yes, we knew."

Beneath him, Prompto just smirked. "For me, it was how you're always 'Aranea this' and 'Aranea' that' and 'Aranea told me she thinks it's pretty when I wear the braid crown.' And how you wore the braid crown for a whole week after that." He nodded. "But I think it's great. You guys're obviously happy together, you know?" He nestled against Noctis' leg a little bit.

From the couch, Aranea nodded. "Didn't think I'd fall for a frosh, but she's pretty cool," she commented with an uncharacteristically bashful smile.

Noctis seemed to be the only one who'd had no idea, but now that he did, it made perfect sense. "If you're happy, I'm happy, Iris. And Aranea's done wonders for your confidence." Not that Iris was ever really anything less than confident, but since she'd been on the team—since she'd been with Aranea, apparently—she seemed even more so. Even happier.

"Yeah, exactly," Gladio agreed. "I suspected that you were into each other after the first time I saw you together. I kinda know those facial expressions." He turned to Ignis and smirked. "I like it. She's alright," he told Iris, pointing at Aranea.

Aranea laughed. "Aw, thanks, Big Guy. You're alright, too," she mused in return.

When Noctis looked back at Iris, he was surprised to see tears in her eyes, despite the smile on her face. She bounded across the room to the couch and wrapped her arms around Gladio's neck. "I've got the best big brother ever," she whimpered against his shoulder.

Gladio laughed and hugged her lightly. "I know you do," he teased.

The feeling that settled over Noctis' heart then was a good one. Warm. Pleasant. Iris hugging Gladio, Aranea and Ignis chatting about how their respective Amicitia was adorable, and Prompto. Prompto nestled against his leg, with his head tilted back, looking at Noctis like he was the only thing in the world that mattered. Prompto smiling sweetly about the moment. Prompto's eyes welling up a little bit at how touching the moment was. Just... Prompto being Prompto.

Noctis smiled, watching as Iris settled on Aranea's lap on the couch. This group of people, none of whom were related to him by blood, felt just like his family. Reaching down, he brushed a tear away from Prompto's freckles and brushed it against his pant leg. There was only one way to describe this feeling.

Real happiness. This had to be what real happiness felt like.


	11. Bitter Poem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _but i'm out of advice, umbrellas wash away in the rain.  
>  i can't wait to see what you become when you became._  
> [bitter poem](https://open.spotify.com/track/16ki7gXqqnd54z8dx0Ph2P) \- cold war kids

"So, I brought this with me." Prompto smoothed a hand through his hair and shrugged. "I was gonna wait for Christmas, but I have something else in mind for then."

Prompto plopped a small, green portfolio on Noctis' bed from where he sat at the desk. Noctis lifted it from the mattress and held it in his hands. It was light, but heavier than it would have been if it was filled with regular paper. It didn't take a genius to know what was in it, and Noctis turned to look at Prompto with a gentle smile on his face.

"Your pictures," Noctis answered an unasked question. "I didn't know we were doing the exchange today."

"We don't have to exchange," Prompto answered. "I just wanted to give it to you now. You can play the song whenever you're ready."

Noctis flipped open the first page of the folder and smiled. The first shot was one of the ones he'd taken on the balcony the first time he'd come over, of the leaves swirling in a tornado. He'd changed the colors so that everything in the background was in grayed out versions of its color, but the leaves kept their original bright orange, yellow, and red coloring. Noctis smiled and turned to look at Prompto. "I remember when you took this," he mused.

Prompto nodded. "Yeah, so do I. It's weird," he explained, watching as Noctis flipped to the next picture. "Most of my best pictures are when I'm with you."

Noctis turned to glance at Prompto with a half-smile. "Come on, I bet all the pictures you ever take are good," he insisted, glancing back down at the portfolio with a sincere smile. At least everything that Noctis had seen was good. And Prompto had never really been shy about sharing pictures with him, so he had no reason to think that there were any bad ones hiding away anywhere.

But Prompto laughed and shook his head, looking down at the floor. "Not even close," he explained, bringing his legs up and sitting butterfly style on Noctis' bed. "I don't share the bad ones, but I've gotten more than my fair share of accidental-blurry shots or one-second-too-late shots where the moment is all destroyed." He motioned back to the book. "I wouldn't have put those in there, though. Not for you."

With a shrug, Noctis glanced back at the page, at a shot of Noctis, Ignis, Gladio, Aranea, and Iris a couple of weeks ago—right after Iris had confessed to her relationship with Aranea—playing some board game that Iris had insisted on. Iris and Aranea were smiling and hugging around the neck, Gladio was laughing at Noctis, who had just lost a round of the game, Ignis was setting up for a new round with a smile on his face, and Noctis was just shrugging in defeat. The photo was lovely. But Prompto had been there too. Noctis wanted to see the whole group, but he supposed that since Prompto was the one taking the photos, it wasn't possible.

"I'm still mad at Gladio for rubbing that loss in my face," Noctis mused. "Wasn't _my_ fault that you kept cheating and stealing my pieces."

Prompto scoffed. "I was _not_ cheating!" he insisted. "I'm just clumsy." The grin on his face showed that he knew _exactly_ how little Noctis would believe his excuse, but also that he didn't care much.

That was okay, though. Neither did Noctis. "Mhm, sure," was his halfhearted defense, as he flipped the page to the next photo. It was of the quad. More specifically, the sidewalk next to the quad. The exact place that Noctis and Prompto had first met. "This place looks familiar," Noctis commented, pointing to the spot on the sidewalk where he'd been standing when Prompto had crashed into him.

Sliding a little bit closer to Noctis, Prompto nodded and smirked. "Kinda an important spot to me. That was an assignment for my class," he explained. "We were supposed to take a shot of somewhere on campus that something important happened to us, and..." He shrugged and smirked.

"It was important to me, too," Noctis answered, smiling sheepishly and turning his head back down to look at the photographs so that he couldn't see Prompto's responding expression.

There were several more shots, each with a special commentary from Prompto that made Noctis' heart swell. The sky reflecting on a river outside of town, the color of which 'reminded him of Noctis' eyes,' and a photo of Iris and Aranea practicing hockey the day that he and Prompto had gone together. Several more great shots of things around town. The final shot, though, made Noctis' smile change to more of a mouth-agape gasp. It was a selfie of the pair of them from when they were studying around exam time. Prompto had his arm draped around Noctis' shoulders, and Noctis was holding up a sideways peace sign. The smile on Prompto's face was exactly the smile that Noctis had gotten used to seeing, but what surprised Noctis the most... was his own smile.

When he saw his smile in the mirror, it never looked like this. This was a true smile. Even his eyes were smiling. Being with Prompto, even surrounded by all of his schoolwork and whatever else, he still allowed himself to smile like that. His eyes glanced over at Prompto, too. Prompto was smiling the same smile that Noctis had always seen him give. His eyes sparkled, even on the glossy page, and his face lit up the whole thing.

Without another word, Noctis turned to look at him and turned his body so that he was facing Prompto completely. He reached a hand over and placed it on Prompto's cheek, before leaning in and capturing Prompto's lips in a kiss. Noctis had a few kisses worth of practice under his belt now, so he was a little bit more confident in his skills—at least in this kind of kissing—and it seemed like Prompto, though taken off-guard, was pretty okay with this turn of events, too. The kiss broke, but Noctis kept his hand on Prompto's cheek with a little smile.

"You're a great photographer, Blondie," Noctis whispered.

Prompto half-smiled. "You're kind of my muse," he admitted shyly. "I always feel like I get my best work when I'm with you or thinking about you or... you're involved somehow." He laughed a soft breath.

That took Noctis completely off-guard, but also made his heart swell a bit. "I don't think I've ever been anyone's muse before," he confessed with a little chuckle.

Chuckling, Prompto shrugged. "I'm sure you have, whether you know it or not," he explained. "It's like I said... I catch people looking at you all the time. Girls, guys... everyone. But I totally understand why." His tone was still hushed, and his smile was a little bit sadder now.

In lieu of a verbal response, Noctis captured Prompto's lips again. He was trying to tell him without saying it that those people could look all they wanted, but there was only one person that he really wanted to look at him. And if the way Prompto's hand reached up and tangled itself into Noctis' hair was any indication, the message was received loud and clear. He felt Prompto's mouth open just slightly, his lips surrounding Noctis' lower lip, wordlessly asking for permission to deepen the kiss. Noctis' heart beat a little bit faster, but he didn't refuse. In fact, he opened his mouth, too, dashing his tongue out to brush across Prompto's lower lip.

They moved together so that Prompto's head was laying against Noctis' pillows, and though Noctis wasn't exactly sure what had come over him in that moment, he liked this development. Quite a bit, actually. His heart was hammering in his chest now, as he moved his attention to Prompto's jaw. The room was filled with music, but all Noctis really cared about hearing was Prompto's breathing; quickening as it was.

But before anything else could happen, the high pitched sound of a cell phone ringtone echoed out through the room. It wasn't Noctis' phone. Or at least he didn't think it was. But even if it had been, he wasn't even sure if he would take it or not.

Prompto didn't at first, either. He ignored it until the ringing ended, and drew Noctis' attention back to his lips again. Admittedly, the only real experience Noctis had with kissing like this was what he saw in movies or on TV. But it seemed like Prompto wasn't bothered. If any of Noctis' lack of experience was obvious, Prompto either didn't notice or didn't care, because when Noctis moved his affections back to Prompto's jaw, then to his neck, Prompto let out a soft sigh and brought one hand up to slide into Noctis' hair once more.

And then his phone went off again.

"Should've put it on silent," Prompto breathed, but reached into his pocket and glanced at the screen. "It's work. Can you give me a second?" He smirked a half-smile at Noctis.

Noctis nodded and moved back just slightly to sit against the headboard of his bed. "As long as you need," he answered, as Prompto accepted the call. "I'm not going anywhere." Not with the way his heart was still hammering in his chest, he wasn't. The ghost of Prompto's fingers in his hair and the sound of his sigh, soft and gentle, was still fresh in his memory.

"Hello?" Prompto answered. "Oh, hi Ravus." He paused for a second, likely letting Ravus—the manager of Prompto's shop—say what he needed to say. "You need me to cover for you. Alright, for how long? Okay, when?" He paused, then sighed and looked at Noctis apologetically. "In an hour. Until close? Well, I guess that's not so bad. Just a couple hours."

Noctis glanced out the window, at the dark, evening sky. It was getting late; probably around six at this point. The coffee shop closed at nine, so it was only for a couple of hours. And then Prompto would be back. That was the plan, for him to come and stay the night, and Noctis was going to ask him before they went to sleep, to stay in his room. No hidden intentions; he wasn't sure if he was quite ready for _that_ yet. But it would be nice not to have to say good night and watch him walk either out of the apartment or out of the room. Just to lay in bed together, until they fell asleep...

"Yeah," Prompto spoke. "Yeah, okay. I'll be there. Bye, Ravus."

And then Prompto hung the phone up and raised his head toward the ceiling, sighing heavily. He turned his head toward Noctis. "So, that was my manager, Ravus. He has some... thing, or something, that he has to do tonight. He was really, really vague, so I don't know. So, he needs me to go in and close for him. I've kind of got to. I need the extra cash for Christmas presents and I'm trying hard for a raise, so-"

Noctis silenced him with a kiss. "That's okay," he promised when he pulled back. "I could come and hang with you, if you want." He shrugged.

Prompto shook his head. "Ravus said it's busy in there, and it'll just be me and one other person. You'd probably be bored," he explained. "And besides... I don't think I'd be able to look at you without grinning like a madman right now." He proved that point by grinning like the happiest person in the world and sliding his hand down Noctis' cheek.

"Alright," Noctis chuckled softly, nodding at Prompto. "I'll at least come pick you up when you close, so you don't have to walk back alone."

Prompto's smile softened. "That's my Hero," he teased.

Noctis shrugged his head to the side and nodded. "And... I was thinking. When you get back, maybe you'd want to sleep in here tonight?" He felt his cheeks heating up, and he turned to look down at the floor so that he didn't have to see Prompto's face when he replied.

But Prompto put his fingers on Noctis' chin and turned him so that they were face to face again. "That sounds great," he answered, standing up, but stopping in front of Noctis to capture his lips in another soft kiss.

Noctis walked with Prompto to the living room, where it was decided that Iris and Aranea would walk with him to work. They needed to go to the convenience store right next to the coffee shop, anyway, they said. That was perfectly fine with Noctis, though, because it meant that Prompto didn't have to walk around town after dark by himself. With a 'see you later' to all three of them, he retreated back to his room and breathed a happy sigh. Maybe Prompto being called in to work was for the best, honestly, because he wasn't sure if he'd have been able to stop himself before they'd gone too far there. At least now, this way, he had a couple of hours to cool down before Prompto got back.

And a couple of hours to practice.

Setting the alarm on his phone to alert him when he had twenty minutes to walk to the coffee shop and pick Prompto up, he grabbed his guitar from the stand next to the wall and made sure it was in tune. Prompto had kept his part of the deal by putting his picture portfolio together, so it was the least Noctis could do to keep his own part of the deal. And he made a lot of progress. In fact, the only real distraction he had was a group of police sirens and an ambulance speeding by outside his window, about a half hour after Prompto left. It pulled him from his seat and to the window, to see which way they were going. His eyes followed them down the street and around the corner, and then he sat back down to get back to work.

A few more tries through, that last chord progression didn't even slow him down anymore. After that, things went far, far more smoothly. Now, though, it was just a matter of singing and playing together without fumbling. He hadn't tried it yet, but he obviously needed to. With a deep breath, he gave his guitar another quick strum.

No sooner had the pick hit the strings, though, than Noctis' phone rang on his bedside table. Iris' ringtone. He glanced at the time as he went to answer it, and noticed that he'd already been in here for an hour and a half. And then he paused. An hour and a half, and Iris was still out and about? What had taken her and Aranea that long?

He answered the phone with a chuckle. "Iris, what're you still doing out? Did a traveling band of carnies take you away or something?" he joked.

"Noct..." Iris' voice was shaky, like she was crying.

Noctis was out of his seat in a second, his guitar discarded to the bed. "Iris? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

A sniffle, and she continued. "No," she answered. "I'm at the hospital. Aranea's with me. And Prompto..." She trailed off, sniffling again.

"Iris?"

There was a little bit of shuffling going on in the background, and then Noctis heard Aranea say, "I got it, Iris. Why don't you go get some coffee?" A couple of seconds, and Aranea was speaking straight into the phone. "Hey, Pretty Boy. So, um... I'm not gonna beat around the bush here. Blondie's in the hospital."

Noctis was already at the bedroom door. "What happened?" he asked as he made his way down the hall.

Aranea's voice was seething when she spoke next. "Those homophobic assholes in the religious alliance," she spat. "They saw us walking down the street together, came from the opposite way, and just picked a fight out of nowhere. There were about six of 'em. The two biggest guys went straight for Prompto, even though I tried to engage 'em myself."

Noctis almost ran straight down the hall without stopping, but instead stopped and knocked on Gladio and Ignis' door. "H-how bad...?" he whispered, as Gladio's face appeared behind the closed door.

"What's going on?" Gladio asked, but Noctis held his index finger up, like he'd explain in a second.

"Iris is okay. She's got a busted eye and a bruised rib. I'm good. But your boy, um... he's... he's not so good." Aranea paused. "He's not gonna die or anything. He's just... his arm's broken. His ribs're pretty messed up. And he's got a pretty nasty concussion. He hasn't woken up yet. But-"

Honestly, Noctis didn't need, or really want, to hear anymore. "We're... we're on our way. Thanks, Aranea." He blinked back tears, said a quick goodbye to Aranea, then turned to Gladio. "Come on. We have to go to the hospital."


	12. Madness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _there’s a certain kind of madness that just cannot be explained,  
>  under sympathetic sadness; beastly anger left untamed._  
> [madness](https://open.spotify.com/track/3HArrNfsVYsuBXXXxXUp2H) \- maria mena

Six hours. They'd spent six hours in the waiting room.

The others had taken Iris to get some food. Ignis had tried to convince Noctis to go, too, but at the moment, Prompto wasn't allowed visitors, and Noctis wasn't going to go _anywhere_ until he got to see him and make sure that he was in one piece. He'd fallen asleep in a chair in the waiting room about three times since they'd left; only for a few minutes at a time, but for long enough that every time he opened his eyes, there were new people in the waiting room. A woman and her young son had waited for news about her husband's heart surgery. An elderly lady was escorted down the hall by a doctor, who delivered the news that her husband had passed. Different groups, different stories... and while Noctis cared, he also didn't care.

He closed his eyes again, leaning against the wall and trying to keep himself from thinking that the worst was happening. Aranea had told him, in no uncertain terms, exactly what had happened, but with no visual proof, Noctis' heart wouldn't let him believe it. The room was empty now, so he let a few tears well up in his closed eyes, and he hoped beyond hope that the doctor would show up soon.

But the next voice he heard was not the doctor's. Not at all. And it made his hackles rise instantly.

"Such a tragedy, isn't it, dear boy?"

How in the world was it that Ardyn was _here_? Now? How had he found out about this? All those questions formed as Noctis opened his eyes and looked at the smarmy Dean of Students, watching as the man looked back at him in a poorly acted frown on his face. Noctis could see it. The frown was like the one a child gives their parents when they get caught with their hand in the cookie jar and try to make excuses. Noctis' eyes narrowed against his volition, but he managed to keep from saying anything.

Ardyn sighed dramatically. "I try so hard to prevent things like this from happening on my campus," he declared, placing a hand on his chest. "But no matter what I do, it's never enough." He settled into the chair next to Noctis and brought his briefcase up to rest it on his lap.

"What are you doing here?" Noctis managed to ask.

Ardyn did his best to look affronted, before placing an arm around Noctis' shoulders. "Why, the police came to my apartment to ask me questions about what happened to your dear friends. I was so moved by poor Prompto's plight that I thought that I would come here and talk to him in person," he explained, smiling like doing so qualified him for Humanitarian of the Year.

Noctis scowled. "Charitable of you," he commented in monotone.

"I _never_ would have expected the Alliance to outright attack your friends," Ardyn spoke, reaching over and placing a hand on Noctis' arm. "I'm surprised the little girl was allowed to go home. She got hurt too, didn't she?"

Cringing away from Ardyn's touch, Noctis stood from his chair and both pretended and didn't pretend to stretch out tension. There definitely had been tension created, both from sleeping in a chair for however long and from Ardyn's sudden presence in the room. "I'm sure the cops told you all you needed to know," he answered Ardyn's question, but also didn't answer it.

With a hum of half-understanding, Ardyn glanced down at his briefcase. "I also came to help the doctors, you see. There's been this mysterious issue... they called the Altissian hospital and they can't seem to find _any_ record of a Prompto Argentum living there." He clicked the two locks open and procured a folder from inside.

"He was an orphan," Noctis answered before he could really stop himself. "There wouldn't be any records of-"

Ardyn smiled that same slick, Cheshire smile, and opened the folder. He flipped through it casually and hummed. "Well, yes, it's true. He was an orphan." He pointed at a spot on a piece of paper in his folder. "His mother passed away and his poor father had no idea what was happening when he disappeared." He flipped a page.

Noctis narrowed his eyes. "You have no right to tell me any of this," he snapped. His hands clenched at his sides, the frustration and worry making his fingernails dig lightly into his skin.

But Ardyn's smile grew. "These aren't school records, dear boy. I have complete control of these, who I tell and who I don't." He closed the folder and offered it out to Noctis. "I can see the curiosity behind your eyes. What I told you before, about how he's hiding something from you? It's bothering you. You're wondering. What could sweet, _innocent_ Prompto be hiding from you? He's so open and honest about everything. Isn't he?"

At this point, Noctis was reasonably sure that his fingernails were leaving imprints in his skin, but he didn't care. He stared at the folder as Ardyn held it out to him. There was definitely a certain level of curiosity there. Questions about where Prompto was from, and what made him who he was. But he wasn't the type of person to dig into someone's past without their permission. And if it was something that Prompto _wasn't_ open and honest about... Noctis had to believe that it was for good reason. Maybe it was too painful, or maybe he was trying to escape it in general. Whatever the reason, though, Noctis didn't need to look into a manila folder to get his answer.

He pushed the folder back toward Ardyn. "Keep your dirt. I don't care," he insisted.

"So loyal to a _lover_ who can't even be bothered to tell you the whole truth." The vitriol that Ardyn used when he spat the word 'lover' made Noctis endlessly suspicious, and he raised his head to look at the Dean, eyes narrowed. "Ah, dear boy. On this campus, you need to be _very_ careful where you share first kisses. There are eyes around every corner."

Noctis' eyes narrowed even further, and he was about to snap at Ardyn, ask him if he was the one who told the Alliance about Prompto and told them to come after him. And why, if he'd told them about Prompto, hadn't he mentioned Noctis? But before he could even open his mouth to get the words out, a familiar voice came from down the hall.

Iris, her voice a little less tearful than before, called out as she walked slowly toward him. "Noct, we brought you some piz-" She stopped sharply, then looked over at Ardyn, who still held the folder in his hands. "What's he doing here?"

It seemed as though Aranea also had suspicions of him, as her expression mirrored Noctis'. "Nothing good, I'm sure," she muttered under her breath.

"Ah, Miss Highwind. Such a shame what happened to you and your lady friend here," Ardyn motioned toward Iris.

Both Gladio and Aranea stepped forward, in front of Iris and Ignis. "Still haven't answered her question," Gladio snapped at Ardyn.

Ardyn chuckled softly. "I wasn't aware it was directed at me, Mr. Amicitia," he snapped the locks to his briefcase closed, then looked at Noctis. "As I was just telling dear Noctis here, I was just so concerned by poor Prompto's plight that I had to come and see with my own eyes that he was okay." He lay his briefcase down in his lap and folded his hands on top of it.

Stepping up beside Gladio instead of standing behind him, Ignis said, "that seems irregular. I never got any indication that you were terribly close to Prompto and-"

A glib laugh interrupted Ignis' musings, and Ardyn stood. "There are some things that even you don't know, Mr. Scientia." He glanced past Noctis' friends and perked his chin up. "Now if you'll excuse me. I'm going to have a word with the doctor to see if I can get in to see our dear blond friend." He stood, the briefcase in his hand, and walked toward the doctor. He intercepted the man before he got to the group, and gave some made up explanation about how he wanted to ask Prompto questions about who had done this to him, so he could scour the campus for them.

Noctis wanted to stop the doctor, and he took a couple of steps forward. That was, until the words, "sure. He just woke up, and I was just about to go and tell his friends that they could come and see him," came from the doctor's mouth.

Ardyn turned and smiled a smarmy smile. "I'm sure none of you have objections to me having a word with him first?" he asked, and without waiting for an answer, he turned his back and walked with the doctor into Prompto's room.

Hands still balled into fists, Noctis stood. He walked over to the door to Prompto's room and pushed on it, frowning when he realized that it was locked. That wasn't right, was it? "He locked it," Noctis seethed as he turned back around. He stormed back to the waiting area and kicked the leg of a nearby chair. It slid about three feet, before impacting another chair. The nurses in the nurse's station stared at him for a second, and one gave him a glare. He looked at them in apology, before settling into the chair he'd been sitting in before in a huff. "This isn't... this isn't right! He just shows up out of nowhere and... and..."

"It's okay," Ignis insisted, trying to calm Noctis down.

But Gladio shook his head no. "It's _not_ okay. There was something about his face," he seethed. "He knows something about those... those _bastards_ in the Alliance, and I'm going to beat the living shit out of each and every one of them until I get some answers." His voice was a low growl, not like it was just the _threat_ of danger and action, but like the action and danger was _imminent_.

Aranea nodded. "Right there with ya, Big Guy."

Ignis stood. "And what do you hope to accomplish with that?" he asked. "Getting yourselves hurt? Making them come after Iris and Prompto again? Or Noct and I? Or all of us next time?" Even though he was being the voice of reason, Ignis' voice trembled with anger. "I'm furious, too. _Noct_ is furious. But perpetuating the fighting rather than taking the proper channels to get it fixed won't help anyone." He crossed his arms.

Admittedly, a part of Noctis wanted to side with Aranea and Gladio. But deep down, in his heart of hearts, Noctis knew that Ignis was right. He crossed his arms at his chest and looked down at the floor. "Ignis is right. You go after them, you only potentially get yourselves hurt, and then what have we done but made the situation even worse?" He hoped that somehow, he'd get through to them.

"I'll look into the proper channels to tend to the situation," Ignis said, stepping forward and placing a gentle hand on Gladio's bicep. "So please, _please_ don't do anything to get yourself in trouble. You either," he turned to Aranea.

Iris nodded her agreement. "Please," she asked.

Aranea just nodded, glancing down at the ground.

It looked like Gladio was still pretty angry, and Noctis totally understood. Gladio's fists were clenched at his sides, but he looked up at Ignis and nodded once. "But those assholes aren't gonna get away with hurting my baby sister. I'm helping you," he insisted.

The whole waiting room was quiet for a moment, but Noctis finally spoke up again. "Gladio is right about one thing. I can't get past the suspicion that Ardyn has something to do with it," Noctis confessed.

"Dean Izunia?" Iris asked, stepping past Aranea with a hand on her arm and a weak smile. She lowered herself to sit on the other side of Noctis, offering the plate of pizza that she'd been holding out to him. "It does seem a little bit weird that he'd come here like this. He hasn't taken special interest in any of us or anything."

Noctis shrugged and accepted the food. "He told me a couple times that he's been keeping an eye on me," he answered. "So, that's not a hundred percent true." He smoothed a hand through his hair. He looked at the plate for a moment, but set it down on the table in the waiting room. This whole situation with Ardyn and whatever secrets Prompto was supposedly hiding... it made Noctis sick. He had no appetite right now. Maybe later.

With a nod, Gladio shrugged. "Everything about the guy seems off to me."

Raising his head, Noctis watched as Aranea stared over her shoulder after where the doctor and Ardyn had gone. She had a highly suspicious expression on her face, and Noctis wondered exactly what it was about. It looked like she was a little more suspicious than the rest of them, honestly, but he didn't point it out right now. His mind wasn't on Aranea or _really_ on Ardyn. It was on Prompto. And wondering exactly what was going on in that room. As his friends talked all around him, his eyes stayed on the hallway, waiting for any sort of sign that Ardyn was leaving.

Much to Noctis' surprise, the doctor left the room first. Noctis was on his feet in a second, hurrying down the hall to get to Prompto's room. There was no way in hell that Prompto was going to be alone with Ardyn right now.

Gladio watched in surprise as Noctis stood, but it seemed like he caught on a couple of seconds later, because he was on his feet, too. The whole group of them rushed down the hall, and stopped in front of Prompto's room. Except, as soon as they got to the door, Ardyn exited with a wolfish smile at all of them.

"Poor boy. I _do_ hope he gets well soon," Ardyn announced to the group, before tilting his hat and starting down the hall.

Aranea looked, for a second, like she wanted to follow him down the hall. But she turned to the group instead and said, "I suggest we get in there before I do something I regret."

Taking the cue, Noctis pushed the door open and stepped inside. However, he wasn't prepared for what he saw on the other side. Prompto still looked like Prompto, sure. But his face was bruised, his lip was split, he had a large cut under his right eye, and he looked like he'd been crying. His left arm was in a cast, and his back was propped up with two pillows underneath... but the most alarming part was the fact that he looked like he'd just been crying. His right hand wiped his eyes, and he winced when he touched the open skin under his right eye, but when he noticed his friends walking into the room, he quickly moved his right arm underneath the sheet. With a sniffle, he greeted them.

"Hey guys," he said, blinking hard, and trying to force a smile.

Noctis crossed the room to Prompto's bedside in two strides, and it was then that he noticed a manila folder sitting on his bedside table. He blinked a couple of times. Was it the same manila folder that Ardyn had shown Noctis? Exactly what had happened in here after the doctor left? There hadn't been much time between Ardyn leaving and the group showing up, so there wasn't much that he could have said, right?

Prompto looked at him, shame coloring his face, and he nodded once. "Y-you can sit if you want." He motioned to the side of his bed with his knee.

Nodding, Noctis sat down gingerly and blinked a bit of emotion back. "Prompto, I'm-"

But Prompto shook his head. "Don't apologize, Hero," he insisted. "It's not your fault. I'm not..." He breathed in slowly, then winced.

"Take it easy, Prompto," Iris insisted, slowly stepping forward and lowering herself gingerly into a chair.

Prompto frowned. "Iris... your face..." he croaked.

She shook her head, though. "Don't worry about me, Prompto. I'm... I'm alright. Just a little sore. But you're-"

Shaking his head, but wincing just as soon as he did it, Prompto continued. "I'll be okay. Aranea, what about you?" he asked.

Stepping up behind Iris' chair, Aranea shrugged. "I'm fine. Takes more than a group of guys who think they're righteous badasses to get me, kid," she insisted in a tone that was confident, but her face belied her concern.

Prompto laughed, but winced. "Good," he answered, and then turned to glance at Ignis and Gladio. "Iris was pretty tough, too." He smiled weakly at Gladio. "Should've seen her punch the guy who tried to get at her from behind. Right across the face, then a knee to the balls, and he was on the floor whining for his mommy." He swallowed back some emotion.

With a proud smirk, Gladio said, "well yeah, I taught her well. Plus all those hockey fights she gets into now," he half-chuckled.

Finally, Prompto's eyes came to rest on Noctis, and he blinked back emotion. Unfamiliar emotion. Fear, maybe? There was a touch of that familiar expression Noctis had seen when Prompto shied away from talk of Accordo, and it made him glance back at the folder on the table. _I have complete control of these, who I tell and who I don't,_ Ardyn had said. Noctis reached a hand out to Prompto and placed his fingertips softly on a non-bruised patch of skin on Prompto's face. He was surprised when Prompto didn't shy away. In fact, he almost leaned into the touch, like a cat when someone rubs its head. It was just a turn of the face, but to Noctis, it spoke volumes.

The touch was Noctis' way of saying that no matter what was in that folder, he was still on Prompto's side. It would take a lot more than whatever that was to scare him away. And if Prompto didn't want to talk about it right now, there was no chance that Noctis would make him. He'd been through enough that day.

When Prompto was ready, though, Noctis would be more than willing to listen.


	13. Follow You Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _so just call me, you know i will be waiting  
>  for you as you walk towards that redemption sound.  
> you know, i'll be the stillness when you’re shaking;  
> and when you fall overboard, i'll follow you down._  
> [follow you down](https://open.spotify.com/track/4FpRUoiEyAmw0RbXcRxbbs) \- lights

As it turned out, the time didn't come until Prompto got out of the hospital. Noctis never pushed. When Prompto was in the hospital, he'd visited every day. He'd brought Prompto's classwork, and stayed with him until the doctors and nurses made him leave. The manila folder never left the table. At least not that Noctis ever noticed. He did see that it moved position once or twice, like someone was reading it. Noctis thought that maybe Prompto had picked it up once or twice, but never asked. It was a can of worms that would almost definitely lead to Prompto having to tell the whole story of what Ardyn was talking about, and Noctis still didn't want to force him into it.

It had been two weeks now, since the fight. Prompto was out of the hospital, and staying with Noctis and the others at their apartment until he was fully recovered. Noctis had driven him to his apartment, and with Gladio, Ignis, and Aranea's help, he'd gotten most of Prompto's necessary things loaded up and ready to bring back. Photography equipment—the group had told Prompto that he could use the spare room as a dark room for his old-fashioned cameras—his laptop, as much of his clothing as they could fit into a few bags that they'd gathered... really anything that he could conceivably need over the course of the month or two that the doctor had said it would take for his broken ribs and arm to be fully healed.

Noctis was embarrassingly excited about this development for two reasons. First of all, he'd be able to make sure that no one else could harm Prompto. And second of all... well, if the spare room was being used as a dark room, and Prompto _couldn't_ sleep on the couch with his injuries, that left one option.

And that was what they were discussing as they made their way into Noctis' room. Prompto had just finished setting up—or, directing _Noctis_ to set up—all of his photo developing equipment. It had been a struggle, trying to get Prompto not to help him, but eventually, Noctis finished setting it up the way Prompto wanted it. It was good, having a use for that spare room. The empty room had always sort of bothered him, but not enough to ask Prompto to sleep there.

"I can't believe that I'm only temporarily staying here, and you guys gave me a room for all of my dark room crap," Prompto mused quietly, with a breath of laughter.

Noctis just shrugged. "We want to be sure you know that you're at home here, Blondie. That you're, you know... part of the family," he explained, his face going a little bit red.

Prompto smiled, but it was another of the 'doesn't quite reach the eyes' smiles that Prompto always gave when he was thinking of something unpleasant. He shrugged his head to the side. "I never had a big family," he admitted, still standing in the middle of the floor with his eyes on his reflection in Noctis' mirror.

With a turn of his head, Noctis glanced at Prompto from where he'd been looking at the floor. "Foster care?" he asked.

Blinking, Prompto looked from the mirror to Noctis. He didn't say anything for a few seconds, and Noctis watched the smile turn to a frown, and then Prompto lowered his head a little. Tears appeared in the corner of his eyes, and he just shook his head no. "N-no," he finally spoke.

Noctis was at his side as quickly as he could possibly move. "Hey, hey, you don't have to do this..." he insisted, placing a hand on Prompto's good shoulder. "I'm not going to make you talk about it until you-"

Before he could finish, Prompto raised his good arm and wrapped it around Noctis in a desperately clinging hug. He buried his head in Noctis' shoulder and it was almost like a levee that had been holding back all of his emotions cracked down the center and everything came pouring out. Noctis gently, gingerly wrapped his arms around Prompto in return. His ribs were still sore, Noctis knew, but he didn't want the hug to be one-sided. Tears soaked the shoulder of his shirt, but Noctis didn't care. However long Prompto had been dealing with this alone, it had been too long.

Prompto shook in Noctis' arms, and breathed in a slow, soft breath. "I do have to do this," he whispered, lifting his head from Noctis' shoulder and meeting his eyes. "Because I've been lying to you." In shame, he pressed his lips together and glanced away from Noctis. "I mean... not just you. Everyone. But you, I..." he took in a slow, unsteady breath.

"About what?" Noctis asked, keeping his words simple so that he didn't interrupt too much.

Glancing at his backpack, which was filled with his clothes and schoolbooks, Prompto nodded his head toward it. "I've got to get my backpack," he started. "The folder's in there, and some of what I need to say is easier to believe if I have the documentation to back it up." He tore himself from Noctis' grasp, hesitantly though the motion was, and struggled to pick up the small black backpack.

Noctis hurried to his side and picked it up, bringing it over to the bed and taking a seat. When Prompto followed behind him, he nodded a sheepish thank you, and with his good hand, unfastened the hook. He rooted through it, procuring the manila folder and sighing. He handed it to Noctis. "You can read along while I explain... if you want," he said, sniffling.

From Prompto's hands instead of Ardyn's, Noctis accepted the folder. He didn't open it right away, though. He may not have even opened it at all. Noctis didn't need written words to back up what Prompto was saying. At this point, Prompto could probably tell him the sky was green, and Noctis would call to correct the people who decided what color was what. Instead, he turned to look at Prompto, before scooting back toward the wall that his bed leaned against. He placed the folder against his pillow and patted the bed beside him. 

Prompto nodded glumly as he climbed gingerly onto Noctis' mattress and moved to a seated position, leaning against the wall. His broken left arm was on the far side of Noctis, and Noctis reached for his uninjured right hand. But Prompto shied away. That surprised Noctis, and worried him a little bit. Seconds later, though, Prompto started speaking. "I wasn't born in Accordo," he started. "I was... I was born in Niflheim. In Gralea."

Nodding, Noctis turned his head to watch Prompto as he spoke. "Okay." It was a start.

But Prompto shook his head no. "No. N-not okay," he muttered. "See, Gralea is way different now than it was twenty years ago. Now it's this industrial paradise. Factories with... with willing workers. Business booms and everyone there is happy because they have guaranteed jobs for life. It's like... an industrial empire. But that's only really been a development for the past ten years or so." He reached over Noctis, grabbing the folder and setting it in his lap. "It used to be more like... more like a forced labor town. You had the fat cats who owned the place, you know? Sitting in their nice apartments with all the money they earned from the hard work that the people in town do for them."

Noctis glanced at Prompto's face, how he was staring at the folder like it was the most horrific thing he had ever seen in his life. Noctis watched as Prompto ran a finger along the edge of the folder, toyed with opening it for a second, before pulling his shaky hand away. "But not us." He hadn't said before now that he was one of the workers, no, but he didn't need to. "The workers lived in... it was almost like the dorms on campus. These crappy little one bedroom apartments with a bathroom the size of a closet." He laughed humorlessly. "Our neighbors never talked to each other. Or us. It was like... drones. Wake up, go to work, come home, sleep, repeat until you die or until you're not useful anymore and they kill you." He paused to breathe a steadying breath, tears still leaking from the corners of his eyes.

Prompto opened the folder, finally. "My mom... her name was Laeta... she was one of the workers." He pointed to a photograph of a lovely blond woman with a horribly sad face. The numbers 12-1-5-20-1 were written underneath her photo, with Laeta Argentum written nearby in parentheses. "She wasn't like the others. She'd work all day. Work her fingers to the bone, sometimes well into the night. But she came home and cooked me meals, read to me. I was one of the only kids in town whose mother was, y'know... a mother." A sad smile came to his face as he glanced at her picture.

"She's pretty," Noctis commented. "You have her eyes. And her freckles."

Nodding, Prompto flipped the page. A picture of a blond boy, who was rail thin and couldn't be any older than five-years-old—and could _only_ be one person—caught Noctis' attention.

"That's me," Prompto explained. "I think I was four here. It was my first day of work, and they were putting me into the system."

Noctis' eyes widened in horror. "At _four_?!" he asked, his eyes shooting back to Prompto.

Prompto winced a bit at the volume of Noctis' voice. "Y-yeah," he explained. He reached down, lifting his sleeve and pulling the green wristband that he wore on his right wrist off. He set it on the bed. On the pale white flesh were scarred numbers. '16-18-15-13-16-20-15.' "They, um... they burn these into your skin when you start work. Brand you, you know? Like... like cattle. It's your ID number, and it's composed of the letters in your birth name, and their position in the alphabet." He stared at his wrist like he hadn't really looked at it in a long, long time. "You work when you're old enough to run the machines, until you're too old to run the machines." His eyes were transfixed on his own image. Sadness and terror lined small Prompto's face and eyes.

Fury coursed through Noctis' veins as he stared at the numbers. "What about your dad? What did he have to say about it?" he asked, his voice trembling with anger.

Choking back a sob and disguising it as a humorless laugh, Prompto shrugged. "He was, you know, one of them. One of the fat cats overseeing the whole place. I don't think I was supposed to know that, but my mom told me." He pointed to a name on the page, 'Verstael Besithia,' beneath the word 'Father.' Prompto stared blankly at the word, like it didn't make him feel anything at all. "I don't think he even knew I existed, honestly."

Noctis was almost shaking with anger at this point. His jaw was clenched. His muscles were tight. It was a wonder that Prompto didn't want to talk about this. Four-years-old was when kids were supposed to get ready to start school, wasn't it? But instead of that, Prompto was forced to start working in a damned _forced labor town_. It made Noctis feel physically ill that this person, this wonderfully brave and beautiful person who had been the brightest light in his life since the very moment they'd met, had been forced to endure so much sadness as a child. And not just him. Countless others.

"How did you get away?" Noctis asked.

Prompto pressed his lips together, releasing them and swallowing hard. "It was a week after I started work," he explained. "I got in trouble for asking a question out of turn. We were, uh... supposed to be seen, working, but not heard. You know? So, they threw me in this 'rehabilitation room' for about two days. The rehab room was really just this solitary confinement chamber. No meals, no contact with the outside world. I was four, you know? And my mom was different than the other parents, in that she talked to me and answered my questions, so-" he paused- "so, I didn't know better."

It seemed like every word was worse than the last, and Noctis feared where the rest of the story was going.

"She died." He paused to sniffle, turning the page back to his mother's image. "Getting me out. One night, right after my stay in rehabilitation, she woke me up in the middle of the night with two bags packed, and we snuck out. She told me to be quiet, so we snuck past all of the guards and got out of the dormitory. We even managed to make it as far as the edge of town, before someone caught up to us." He paused, letting out a little sob.

Noctis put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close, pressing a kiss to the side of his head.

He smiled weakly at Noctis, before turning back to the page. "Someone shot her. Right in the stomach. But... but she kept running with me. It was slower, but she got me behind these bushes and..." He glanced at his mother's sad face in the photo, swallowing back emotion. "And she... she told me to run. To get away and find a life somewhere better..."

Tears sprang to Noctis' eyes. "No..." he murmured.

Prompto nodded, though. "I didn't want to go. I cried. Begged her to come with me. But... but she told me to go, and made me promise her to find a better life. A happy life." He swallowed and heaved a sigh. "I ran until I got to Tenebrae. I tried to live there for awhile. I even enrolled myself into school. But when the reform started in Niflheim ten years ago, some of the people who used to run the factories started hunting for their workers to start over somewhere else. They started in Tenebrae, so... so I had to run. Then I settled in Accordo." He paused.

"See? I wasn't totally lying. I... I did live in Accordo."

Noctis honestly didn't care about the lies, though. So, he just nodded. "You did," he answered, placing another kiss to the side of Prompto's head.

Prompto sighed. "For about a year, though. And then they came there, too. So, I stowed away on a boat to get to Lucis. I thought this time I'd escaped them for good, you know? Ten years. But it-" he glanced at the folder- "it caught me again."

Shaking his head no, Noctis said, "it's different this time. You aren't alone," he insisted. "And if you think that Iggy or Gladio or Iris or Aranea... or _I_... am going to let anyone harm you in—" He stopped short, because he'd already failed that, "any more than they already have? Then you're wrong. I meant what I said, Blondie. You're part of this family. It may be weird, and not blood-related, except Iris and Gladio, anyway... but we're a family. We're _all_ a family. And you never have to be alone again unless you want to."

The ghost of a smile appeared on Prompto's face, and he said, "I don't want to. And... and for the first time, I don't want to run..." as he turned his head to glance at Noctis.

Tears stained Prompto's cheeks, and Noctis reached a hand up to wipe one away softly. "You don't have to. I... don't want you do." If he did, it would probably shatter Noctis' heart, but he didn't say that aloud.

"You'd think that between Dean Izunia knowing about this somehow, and what happened-" Prompto glanced down at his cast- "that I'd want to get the hell out. But I don't. I'm... Maybe it's crazy. But you guys... _you_ especially... I know we're not even really together or anything. We've kissed, we've made out and stuff. But we've never said anything like, 'you're my boyfriend.' And I'd still... I still don't want to leave you."

Boyfriend. Noctis pondered that word for a second. He'd always thought that he'd _be_ a boyfriend, but never thought he'd _have_ one. But, as he looked at Prompto, into those blue eyes, it was all he could think. His emotions were still running high from Prompto's story; from hearing all the terrible things that this amazing, beautiful person had been through. But in that moment, looking into Prompto's eyes, all he could think of was the fact that he didn't want to be with anyone else in the world more than he wanted to be with Prompto Argentum. He wanted to keep Prompto safe. Make him happy. Be with him.

Leaning close to Prompto, Noctis tried to calm his nerves. "Be my boyfriend..." he said. He'd meant for it to be a question. He really, really had. But it had come out as more of a demand. "I... I mean... if you want to. I didn't mean for it to sound like I was trying to tell you what to d-"

Prompto managed a laugh through his sadness. He turned his head, interrupting Noctis' babbling by capturing his lips in a gentle kiss. His right hand grabbed hold of Noctis' left, and he linked their fingers together.

"Was that a yes?" Noctis asked with a little grin once the kiss broke.

Smirking, Prompto nodded. "Of course it was, Hero."

Noctis kissed him once more.


	14. Joy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _there was something bout you, baby  
>  that i never, ever felt before.  
> can i touch, or just look?  
> feels like love..._  
> [joy](https://open.spotify.com/track/72bOF9ywjQVeWXbMbwjMoo) \- fefe dobson

Noctis really _had_ always been fond of Christmas, despite never really celebrating it with his father too much. Bright colored lights and gifts and cookies _all over the place_. Actually, since the start of December, there had never been a moment where there hadn't been cookies on the counter. Between Ignis and Iris, they always cooked either gingerbread or sugar cookies or something and the apartment always smelled like pastries.

Now, though, Christmas break was starting. And now it was more than cookies. Iris had baked a gingerbread cake, Ignis had made these weird cinnamon tarts and Noctis was about sixty percent sure that by the end of the season he was going to have gained about fifty pounds. Except, not really. They still walked around campus. Noctis wanted to insist that Prompto ride with him in his car, but Prompto—once again proving that he was an incredibly brave, one-of-a-kind person—insisted that it wasn't necessary. He'd told Noctis that he wasn't going to be scared by people who were afraid of or confused by who Prompto fell in love with, or let them dictate how he spent his life.

If Noctis hadn't already admired him, that would have done it.

It was a little worrisome though, especially since Prompto was actually out of the house without Noctis again. But he was with Gladio and Ignis, doing some Christmas shopping and heading to the library to follow up on a lead that Ignis had found about Ardyn's past. Noctis wanted to go with them, but Prompto had insisted that he stay home. Prompto said that he still needed to buy a Christmas gift for Noctis, and insisted that he'd be okay if Noctis stayed home.

However much Noctis loved the Christmas season, _Prompto's_ love for the holiday was about six times stronger. He hummed Christmas carols to himself all the time, and alongside Iris, made a huge deal of decorating the apartment from top to bottom in the most Christmassy of decorations. He'd been struggling with a list of Christmas gifts for each of their friends, insisting to Noctis that he wanted to get the absolute perfect thing for everyone. So far, he said, he'd gotten things for everyone but Iris and Noctis himself, so Ignis and Gladio had offered to escort him to the mall that day while they took a trip to the library.

So, Noctis sat on the couch, playing a round of Mario Kart with Aranea while Iris worked on another batch of cookies in the kitchen. She'd called winner in a very loud and excited voice as she spooned batter out onto the wax paper, and then slid the cookie sheet into the oven. Hurrying into the living room, she plopped down into the recliner and watched—eagerly cheering Aranea on.

It was really, really good to see her healing up. She was just now getting off the injured reserve list, and was about to start practicing to play in the game on the day after Christmas. And it was good, a _real_ relief, to see that the fight hadn't really adversely affected her. She was still confident in her relationship with Aranea—they'd sort of adopted a similar attitude about things as Gladio and Ignis had; not shy about public touches or contact, but they never went too far with it, either—and it was kind of refreshing, and kind of an inspiration for Noctis in his own relationship with Prompto.

What _wasn't_ refreshing or inspiring, though, was how hardily Aranea was handing his ass to him in Mario Kart.

Toad had just lapped him on Rainbow Road, after knocking him off the edge twice in a row; once with a blue shell and once by crashing into him with a mushroom booster. Noctis was solidly in eighth place, with almost no chance at all to come back and even get near seventh. Because the first place winner had knocked him off, it seemed like all of the AI had taken to crashing into him or throwing shells and banana peels and upside down question mark blocks at him... and in an extremely frustrating turn of events, seventh place Yoshi had even managed to lap him.

"This is _ridiculous_!" Noctis announced to the whole room, huffing like a spoiled child. "I just got lapped by _Yoshi_. A green freaking _dinosaur_ just lapped me. You're cheating. In my own apartment."

Aranea laughed and shook her head no. "You wish, Pretty Boy. You're just used to destroying Skinny of the Supposedly Mad Peach Skills." She laughed softly and crossed the finish line in first. Raising her arms over her head in triumph, she turned to look at Noctis. "Boom!" She pointed two finger guns at his face. "Hand that controller to Iris! Might as well accept your defeat with dignity!" she exclaimed, ticking her head over toward her girlfriend.

Noctis smirked wide. "Little does she know, Iris is the secret hidden Ninja Master of Toadette." He willingly passed the controller over to Iris, if only to see Aranea get put in her place by her own girlfriend.

With no shortage of confidence, Iris took the controller and turned toward the TV. "So, Noct," she addressed as she selected Toadette from the character screen. She and Aranea exchanged a knowing smirk, and Iris continued on. "What's it been like having Prompto stay here? I mean, you're used to having your own space, right? And since he's not sleeping in the extra room or on the couch, he's obviously staying in your room." She effortlessly mushroom boosted past Aranea and the second place Daisy, sniping a question mark block from Aranea.

But Aranea didn't seem bothered. Instead, she jumped on board with Iris' question train. "Yeah. Pretty sure I haven't seen either of you on the couch any night I've been here, either," she mused.

These two, Noctis realized, were about as subtle as a pile of bricks to the head. They were needling him for information. Up until now, he'd been playing it relatively close to the chest about his relationship with Prompto. He was reasonably sure that Ignis had seen them kissing once, which likely meant that Gladio knew. He was honestly surprised that Gladio hadn't told Iris; surprised that the whole apartment didn't know. And he honestly didn't _care_ if the whole apartment knew. That would save him from having to tell them later. Except now, the pair of them seemed intent to make Noctis fess up on his own.

"Interesting," he replied, in lieu of a proper confession. If they were trying to trick him into confessing, they would have to do a lot better than some simple couch musings.

Iris though, Noctis should have known, was as persistent as her older brother was. "Yeah, it's _really_ interesting," she nodded her head as she drove straight into Donkey Kong and knocked him off the edge. She was as ruthless on the course as she was on the ice and, apparently, in her questioning about Noctis' love life.

Aranea, despite being in a _very far behind_ second place, couldn't stop smirking. "I mean, does that mean you're sleeping on the floor? Or that you're making him sleep on the floor? Doesn't seem like something you'd do," she walked through her thought process as she turned and picked up a question mark block.

Huffing, Noctis got up and shrugged. "Maybe I just get up off the couch before you guys get up in the morning."

Both Iris and Aranea burst out in howling laughter before Noctis could even finish his sentence. "Okay, Mr. I Get Out Of Bed Just To See What Ignis Made For Breakfast And Then Immediately Crawl Back In Until Noon," Iris gave Noctis a look for a second, then shook her head no. "The only way you're awake before us is if you never went to sleep. So, why don't you try _that_ one again?" she teased.

"Valiant effort, though. Gotta commend you for going for it," Aranea nodded sagely. "So, how's it been shacking up with Skinny?"

Shacking up. Noctis' cheeks heated up. "We haven't been... shacking up. We've... we've just been, you know... sleeping." He shrugged his shoulders and got up to go to the kitchen. He picked up one of Ignis' sugar cookies and bit into it, to distract himself from having to answer.

Iris smirked. "Still, it must be nice not having that big room all to yourself. Less lonely," she suggested.

He tried to be nonchalant. "It is," he answered Iris' first non-question.

Noctis was trying to play it casual, but it really, _really_ was. Prompto wasn't shy with affectionate cuddles, and even though he was still healing, it wasn't out of the ordinary for Noctis to wake up in the middle of the night with long, gangling limbs wrapped around him like looser-gripping boa constrictors. There were nights when it was a little rougher, of course. When Prompto had nightmares about his past and about the fight. He'd wake up sharply, and occasionally wake Noctis up too—Noctis usually hated being woken up, but he didn't care when it was Prompto, especially not like this—and Noctis would have to remind him that he was safe now. But all in all, it was really, really nice not having his whole big room to himself. _Especially_ sharing it with Prompto.

"You guys made it official yet?" Aranea asked.

Noctis peered into the oven at the cookies that Iris was making, just barely taking shape in the pan. Once again trying to be nonchalant, he said, "yeah."

The gasp Iris made filled the whole apartment, and she blinked, hitting the pause button on the race. She turned in her chair, sitting on her knees and staring at Noctis in surprise over the back of it. "Noct!" she squealed. "Really?!" She clasped her hands in delight.

Leaning against the counter, Noctis nodded. He was unable to keep the blush from crossing his face. "Yeah. I, um... I asked him on the day he got home from the hospital." He shrugged his head to the side, and the blush—as well as his smile—grew even wider. Both the fact that Prompto really was his boyfriend and the fact that Iris looked so endlessly happy about it threatened to make the smile take over his whole face.

Iris beamed. "Oh my goodness, I'm so happy!" she clapped her hands a couple of times. "Aranea! Remember what we said we'd do when they finally made it official?" She turned to her girlfriend, pointing a finger at her.

"I've got the banner paper and the construction paper for confetti. I'm gonna do the banner." Aranea stood and walked toward Iris' bedroom. 

Noctis blinked. "What...?"

With a giggle, Iris stood and bounded into the kitchen, peering into the oven before making a stop at the drawer beside the oven and plucking out a pair of scissors, then a bucket from the cabinet underneath the sink. "I mean it isn't ideal, because you're here and not out with Prompto and the others, so you're gonna see everything," she started with a dramatic sigh. "But we've been planning this thing for when you two finally stopped being idiots and started dating." She patted Noctis on the cheek with her free hand, then turned to walk back to her chair. "We're gonna make a banner and some confetti. And we're gonna throw it at Prompto when he gets back from shopping with Iggy and Gladdy."

Blinking a couple more times, Noctis turned and watched as Aranea came back into the room with a monstrous stack of paper. "Wait, so... Prompto and I get this confetti and banner party, and you didn't even do anything for your own brother getting _engaged_?" he asked, incredulous.

Aranea shrugged. "Brains probably would've had an aneurysm if we threw confetti on him and messed up his perfect pomade helmet hair," she commented as she started writing giant block letters on the banner paper. Noctis inwardly mused that she and Iris were obviously rubbing off on each other, but he was still completely baffled by the pomp and ceremony around his relationship with Prompto.

Nodding her agreement, Iris started cutting the paper into tiny pieces over the bucket. "But Prompto will love it," she insisted.

Noctis paused, a huge smile coming back to his face. She was right about that. Prompto would love it. Noctis could imagine the smile crossing Prompto's face as he walked through the door and Iris and Aranea immediately threw a bucket full of confetti at him. And after the month he'd had, he deserved to smile like that. Any fight he was planning to put up died on his lips. "Do you, uh... need help?" he asked.

Turning to glance at him, Aranea quirked a little grin. "You've got it bad, don't you?" she asked. "You don't seem like the type who'd subject yourself to making confetti for just anyone." She pulled out some colored pencils and started coloring in her giant block letters.

With a one-shouldered shrug and a head-quirk of acknowledgment, he dashed his tongue out to wet his lips. "Guess so," he answered.

"You," Iris started, "can help by standing beside Prompto as soon as he walks into the room so we can shower _both_ of you with all this confetti." She nodded sagely. "Oh, and taking my cookies out when the timer goes off."

Noctis laughed softly and watched as the pair of them continued to work. Aranea finished first, hanging her banner—which read 'GRATS ON FINALLY TYING THAT DOWN, SKINNY AND PRETTY BOY!' in rainbow bubble letters—on the wall behind the couch. Iris finished her confetti just as the oven dinged, and Noctis took the cookies out and set them on the counter. While they cooled, the girls finished their Mario Kart match, and it surprised exactly no one when Iris won by a landslide.

Mere moments after the race finished, though, the three heard the downstairs door open. Iris pointed at Noctis and told him to wait by the door, before grabbing the bucket of confetti from underneath the table. She mixed it up with her hand and watched as Noctis walked over to lean against the counter. Footsteps came up the stairs now, and the door opened. Ignis came in first, and Iris shushed him with a glance. Gladio, too, got the same shushing treatment, as well as a 'move out of the way' motion with a hand. Prompto appeared in the door seconds later, and Noctis' heart felt like it was going to burst from his chest.

Prompto wore the dorkiest Christmas sweater that Noctis had ever seen in his life. It was green, with running chocobos in red scarves and Santa hats on them, and it looked absolutely nerdy... but absolutely _adorable_. What was more nerdy, though—and somehow more adorable—was the fact that resting on top of Prompto's head, was a crown made entirely of mistletoe.

"What's going on?" Prompto asked, glancing at the sign and blinking.

Noctis stepped up beside Prompto, grinning at him as he leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Just go with it," he whispered into his boyfriend's ear.

Ignis and Gladio stood off to the side, smirking a little bit as Iris approached Prompto and Noctis with her bucket of confetti. She hauled back and threw the multi-colored construction paper flakes out into the air over their heads, starting a cascading rainbow rain above them. Ignis' whimper of protest was silenced by Gladio, who laughed softly and told him to 'let kids be kids,' but that was only in the very corner of his awareness right now. The only thing that Noctis _really_ noticed was exactly how stunned, exactly how _happy_ , Prompto looked. The smile that broke out on Prompto's face was one of the most genuine and gorgeous smiles that Noctis had ever seen anyone give before, and he pressed another kiss against Prompto's cheek in response.

Prompto laughed, his cheeks a little pink. "'Tying that down,' huh? You told 'em?"

"Didn't have to," Noctis chuckled in response. "You okay with that?"

Nodding, Prompto admitted, "I'd be okay with telling the world." He turned his head, pressing his lips against Noctis' lips this time. "So yeah, I'm fine with it." He reached his hand up and brushed some confetti from Noctis' cheek.

Telling the world. Noctis, too, wanted to tell the world. He did. Telling the world started with telling his father, though. And he wasn't sure if he was quite ready for that conversation quite yet. He'd have to eventually, if he wanted this relationship to really work. Which, of course, he did. But for now... Noctis would readily tell the rest of the world. The smile, which had wilted just slightly, came back into place as he brushed a couple of pieces of confetti out of Prompto's mistletoe crown. In moments like this, when he was in a room full of happy, celebrating friends and Prompto was the only one he could see, he felt like the term 'like' wasn't enough to encompass his feelings. Times like this, when Prompto looked at him with the happiest expression Noctis had ever seen him wear before, he looked back at Prompto and saw the only thing in the world that mattered.

Times like this, when happiness gripped his chest in the tightest—but most pleasant—vice-grip he'd ever felt, Noctis knew that he was in love.


	15. You Are My Sunshine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _you are my sunshine, my only sunshine,  
>  you make me happy when skies are gray.  
> you'll never know dear, how much i love you.  
> please don't take my sunshine away._  
> [you are my sunshine](https://open.spotify.com/track/5qMjtrGnezsafpH4oqg7oU) \- jasmine thompson

Noctis had been practicing all day while Prompto was at work. His sudden last minute change of song was unexpected even to him. For awhile now, he'd been practicing his favorite— _the Leaving Song_ by AFI—but that didn't really seem appropriate anymore. It was too sad, and for the past little while, Noctis hadn't felt too much by way of sadness. Sure, there was still the bitter pang of guilt and a _tiny_ bit of sadness when he looked at the cast on Prompto's arm, or saw how he was still a little bit tentative in his movements. But if Prompto wasn't going to let sadness and fear hold him back, then Noctis wouldn't do it either.

So, no. He wouldn't sing a sad song about poisoned hearts and staring at the cracks and all the things that encompassed a person when they were depressed. It was a spur of the moment decision, but all day, he'd been practicing the chords to something new instead. And somehow—maybe partially because of the vow he'd made to himself that the song would be part one of his Christmas gift to Prompto—he'd managed to get it down before Prompto got home.

It wasn't perfect. It wasn't even _close_ to perfect. But it was Christmas Eve, and Prompto was on his way home from work with Ignis—who had driven to pick him up, under the guise of wanting to get the group some coffee—and he wanted to do it tonight. He _needed_ to do it tonight. The box with Prompto's second gift sat under the bed, wrapped in metallic green wrapping paper with chocobos adorning it and tied with a red bow. That gift—the Canon GX9, the camera Prompto had mentioned wanting months ago—he _knew_ Prompto would like. So, at least if the song was a total flop, he'd have something to fall back on.

That didn't stop him from feeling nervous, though.

For the seventh time, he made sure his guitar was in tune. Then he stood and checked himself over in the mirror. He wasn't wearing anything special, really. Just a t-shirt and jeans. His hair was normal. _Maybe I should change. I'm doing something special for Prompto, right? So maybe I should at least wear something nicer than this ratty old t-shirt, at least._ He cringed his nose and walked over to his dresser, opening the top drawer to fish through for a button down shirt. Pulling out a black plaid button down, he shrugged and shed his t-shirt to change.

As soon as his t-shirt hit the floor, though, the door squeaked open. He turned toward it, surprised-but-not to see Prompto standing there. "Oh, hey Blondie," he greeted, smiling softly as he tugged his shirt up over his shoulders. The smile grew even wider when he noticed that the mistletoe crown was still squarely in place on Prompto's head.

Prompto held a pastry bag in his arm with the cast, and in his uninjured hand, he held a cup carrier with a pair of cups in it. "Double shot caramel macchiato, right?" he grinned softly as he placed the coffee on Noctis' desk. "And those raspberry filled croissants you liked." He wiggled the pastry bag in his fingers, stepping toward Noctis with it.

Pausing before buttoning his shirt, Noctis nodded as he accepted the bag. "Double shot at seven at night?" he responded, his smile turning into a grin. "Trying to keep me up all night, Blondie?"

With a head shrug to the side, Prompto asked, "what if I am?" as he stepped up to Noctis. One hand took the mistletoe crown from the top of his head and placed it on Noctis' instead. "Would that be a problem?" Before Noctis could answer, Prompto reached his cast-free hand up and grabbed hold of Noctis' still-open shirt, pulling him in for a kiss.

"Uh-uh," Noctis murmured against Prompto's lips.

As the kiss broke, Prompto met Noctis' eyes, grinning. "Mistletoe looks good on you. Plus, it means I get to kiss you whenever I feel like it," he mused, stepping back out of Noctis' space in what was probably supposed to be a lithe and slick motion... and was, until he tripped over Noctis' t-shirt on the floor. He laughed at his own expense. "So, what's with the wardrobe change?" He motioned to Noctis' shirt on the floor as he walked over to the desk and took one of the coffee cups out. He pulled back the tab and took a slow, tentative sip.

Noctis watched after him with a fond smirk on his face, as he finally started buttoning his shirt. "Okay, first of all: you can totally kiss me whenever you feel like it even without the help of a mistletoe crown." But even after saying that, he didn't remove it from his head. If Prompto wanted it there, that was where it would be. "And second of all: I'm changing because I'm giving you your Christmas presents tonight, and I wanted to be wearing better than a ratty old band t-shirt when I did it."

Smirking, Prompto asked, "the Linkin Park one again?" glancing down at the shirt on the floor.

Chuckling softly, Noctis nodded his head as he picked the shirt up and tossed it into the pile in the corner. He had a hamper. He just... didn't always make it _to_ the hamper. And now it was more than just _his_ clothes in that corner. Prompto's clothes; skinny jeans and sweatshirts and whatever else were piled up in a massive pile... that Ignis would inevitably come to collect whenever the next laundry day was. Sometimes, his friend got on his case about using the hamper and how much easier it made things. Other times, though, he just sighed and went with it.

With his shirt fully buttoned now, he turned around and glanced at Prompto with a nervous smile. He didn't have the distraction anymore, so he realized that it was just about time for him to start with Prompto's gifts. He looked at his boyfriend, raking his teeth over his lip and nodding over to the bed. "Sit down?" he asked.

Prompto nodded and set his coffee back down on the desk. He lowered himself down on the bed and made himself comfortable, or at least as comfortable as he could, turning to glance at Noctis. "I have your present, too," he commented with a half-smile.

"Do you want to go first?" Noctis asked, possibly stalling for time. A little bit.

Shaking his head no, Prompto wet his lips. "No, it's... you felt the need to change your shirt for it. So, uh... you should go first." An uncharacteristic nervousness crossed his face, and he fiddled with the strings on the hoodie he'd borrowed from Noctis. "Plus, maybe it'll make me feel a little less nervous." He shrugged a shoulder.

Not Noctis, though. If anything, it would make him _more_ nervous. Still, if he didn't do it now, he never would. So, he settled on the bed next to Prompto and picked his guitar up. "So, I know that part of our whole, um... deal... that we made a few months ago was that I would play you my favorite song." He gave his guitar a cursory strum, noting that it was perfectly in tune. Couldn't even buy himself time that way. "But I changed my mind. Besides, you know what my favorite song is. You've heard it a bunch of times."

Prompto chuckled softly. "That whole album, really. But I'd still like to hear you sing it," he commented.

"Another time," Noctis answered. "Right now, I um... I have something that I want to sing to you. For you. Is that alright?" Another cursory strum with his fingers in the right position to start the song, he turned to Prompto to wait for the answer.

With a nod, Prompto quirked a little grin. "Whatever you want to play for me is fine for me, Hero. I just want to hear you. You've been so secretive. Always practicing when I'm not there and never letting me hear or have a sneak peak, so I..." Pausing, Prompto laughed softly at himself and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm ready to hear you play, for sure." He rested his uninjured arm on his cast and watched Noctis carefully.

Swallowing the nervous lump that had leaped up, Noctis prepared himself by plucking each string with the guitar pick and clearing his throat. And then he started to play _You Are My Sunshine_. Because Prompto was his sunshine. It amused Noctis sometimes, how his life had been shrouded in darkness—in a sad willingness to settle for a life that someone else laid out in front of him—and then all of a sudden, in a whirlwind of chance, Prompto crashed into him on the sidewalk one day and flipped it all upside-down and on its head. And ever since they'd met, Noctis almost felt like he learned new things about himself every day. Because of that sunshine in his life, he now felt like he had the confidence to break free of the life he'd been wrapped up tight in. All of those thoughts, all of those feelings... Noctis hoped that his strumming and singing was sending them with his voice.

The song was gentle and quiet, but in the quiet that otherwise filled the room, every note, every change and lilt of Noctis' voice came through loud and clear. In fact, it was hard not to wince when he missed a note or his voice crackled a little bit on a couple of parts. Or especially when he managed to sing the wrong word in the middle. When he finally finished, his face was as red as a tomato, because it wasn't nearly as perfect as he thought it would be. And he was way too embarrassed to look at Prompto.

But Prompto didn't give him the option. With his uninjured hand, he reached and turned Noctis' face toward his, leaning in and capturing Noctis' lips in a soft, gentle kiss. When the kiss broke, Noctis was stunned to see that Prompto's eyes were welling over with tears. After an awkward laugh, Noctis murmured, "that bad, huh?"

Prompto shook his head. "No," he croaked. "No, of course not. It... it was amazing. I..." He laughed a soft, quiet note and said, "I never thought I'd be able to hear that song and feel happy again."

"Again?" Noctis blinked a couple of times.

With a nod, Prompto slid closer to Noctis, then moved back to the wall. He motioned for Noctis to do the same. "Yeah, again," he answered.

Noctis put his guitar down against the pillows and moved back against the wall next to Prompto. When he got comfortable, Prompto moved closer, so that their legs were touching, and draped his right leg over the top of Noctis' left. "My mom used to sing that to me. As a lullaby," he explained. "That's... you know... one of my first memories. I was... maybe three? And she came home from work at midnight one night. I couldn't sleep, because I hadn't eaten yet. So, she made me a peanut butter sandwich, gave me a glass of milk, read me Goodnight Moon, and then sang that song." He wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

Noctis blinked. Of course, Noctis' gift would be a disaster. Of _course_ , he'd pick the wrong song. Of _course_ , it would be the one song that held painful memories about Prompto's mother. Of course. "I'm... I didn't-" 

But Prompto shook his head no. "Don't," he insisted. "You don't have to. The song..." He paused and half-smiled. "It's always made me miss her, but... I love it. I think it only made me so sad because I was by myself. You know? But now, because of you and Iris, I have everyone. Gladio and Ignis and Aranea. And now, even though I do still miss my mom... it doesn't hurt. That was amazing, Hero. When I was listening to you? I thought of her. Of course I did. But then I looked at you and it was like... it didn't hurt anymore. Because... because I have a home now, you know? With you." His cheeks were red, and still stained slightly with tears, but he was smiling through it now.

It was funny, because all things considered, they had only been a couple for a very short time. But everything that Prompto was saying... Noctis couldn't help but agree with all of it. When he looked at Prompto, _he_ didn't hurt, either. _He_ didn't feel sadness or the hopelessly trapped feeling that he'd felt his whole life. He was tied down, happily, in a relationship with a wonderful person... but he was also free.

"You're the bravest person I know, Blondie," Noctis told Prompto with a fond smile.

Prompto smiled back. "And you're the best person I know," he replied. The smile turned excited after a second, and he held his index finger up, reaching into the pocket of his pants for his wallet. "Which is why! I have two presents for you." He opened his wallet and rifled through, pulling an appointment card out and handing it over to Noctis. "That's one."

Noctis blinked as he looked the card over. "Alstor Humane Society?" he asked.

With a nod, Prompto pointed at the date and time. "We have an appointment there. The tenth of January at noon. I scheduled it for a time when you didn't have classes. Iris told me that you'd always wanted a cat," he explained. "So, I called and prepaid the adoption fee on whatever cat you find there that you want." He smiled a nervous, lopsided smile.

His eyes wide, Noctis turned and looked at Prompto. "Really?!" he asked eagerly. "I _have_ always wanted a cat! I couldn't get one last year because I was in the dorms, but..." His smile grew from a simple grin to one that covered his whole face. "Jeez, Blondie, this is... this is _awesome_!" He reached out and hugged Prompto loosely.

Prompto, though, wrapped his arm around Noctis and hugged him as close as he possibly could. "This was definitely more than I expected for a reaction," he chuckled softly. "The other one..." He paused and grinned. "Is that box I asked you not to open in your closet." He pushed back from the hug and held his index finger up to Noctis. "Be right back."

And while Prompto got into the closet, Noctis got up to put his guitar back on its rack, then leaned down to reach under his bed for Prompto's second gift. The metallic green wrapping paper glinted in the light enshrouding the rest of the room and gave Noctis enough of a beacon to grab at the present among all the rest of the mess under the bed. When Prompto returned from the closet with a large box, wrapped in dark blue paper with a silver ribbon, Noctis found himself curious and intrigued. He held out his gift to Prompto before he sat down, the pair exchanged with gentle smiles, and Noctis laughed.

"Guess we both weren't done yet," he mused.

Prompto laughed too as he slid back up to his previous position against the headboard of the bed. "Guess not," he mused. "You first this time." He gestured to Noctis' lap, where the box sat.

While Noctis wanted to insist that Prompto go first, he couldn't deny some curiosity as to what was in the blue and silver box, so he tore the paper. Beneath it sat a large boot box which appeared to be very used. Dents and dings adorned the top of the box, which made Noctis even more curious. He peeled the wrapping paper back all the way and lifted the top from the box, blinking in surprise at its contents.

"I was at this consignment shop in the mall the other day, looking for old camera equipment. Tripods and filters and whatever else. I wasn't planning on buying your gifr there or anything. But then I saw this whole section full of vintage guitar bits and pieces." Prompto peeked into the box, too. "I figured, since you're teaching yourself, you could... you know, use it. Maybe you'd like it."

Just as he'd stated, the box was filled with tiny little guitar trinkets. Picks of varying colors and sizes, tuners, a metronome, strings, and even several books of classic rock sheet music. Noctis' eyes widened, and he blinked twice in shock. "W-" he start-stopped. "You..." He paused, turning to glance at Prompto with his eyes wide. "This is amazing..." Finally, he managed to speak a full sentence, and it was the understatement of the century. He turned slightly, leaning in and capturing Prompto's lips in a soft, gentle kiss.

Prompto smiled against his lips, raising his hand to adjust the mistletoe crown on Noctis' head. "I figured, you know... this would encourage you to let me hear you play. But that was before I knew you were planning to play for me." He chuckled softly, glancing at Noctis' guitar against the wall.

With a chuckle, Noctis nodded. "I've enjoyed practicing, though. And now I have new songs to practice and a whole bunch of new stuff to try out, so I'm probably going to annoy everyone in the apartment while I learn." He half-smiled, looking down into the box again before setting it off to the side to look at later.

"Not me," Prompto insisted, then turned to glance at the box on his lap. "My turn now, huh?" he asked as he reached for the bow with his good hand.

Noctis watched as he pulled the bow off, setting it off to the side. With a smirk, plucked the bow from where Prompto had set it and stuck it to the top of Prompto's head, in his hair. The pair of them laughed a little bit, and then Prompto got to work unwrapping the paper. He only made it about halfway, though, when he realized exactly what was beneath the paper.

Prompto's eyes widened. "You _didn't_ , Hero!" he gasped.

Shrugging one shoulder, Noctis turned to look at his face as he hurried to get the rest of the box unwrapped. "I might've," he replied.

"No. Noctis, you... _seriously_? You didn't have to... you shouldn't..." Prompto stumbled, stammered over his words, as he took in the image of the camera of his dreams on the box. Tears sprang to his eyes again, and he peeled the top of the box open, even _more_ surprise lining his features at the actual camera on the inside.

Noctis shrugged. "I remembered you saying that you wanted it," he explained. "And you're... you know, you're really good. You take better pictures than anyone else I've ever seen. So I wanted you to be able t-"

But Noctis didn't get to finish his sentence. Prompto crashed their lips together, pummeling him with strength that an injured man should _not_ be using, down to the bed and kissing him like their lives depended on it. When the kiss came to an end, though... that's when Prompto spoke the last four words Noctis expected him to say.

"I love you, Hero..." he murmured, eyes shining with happy tears as he met Noctis'. "I mean... I do. Not just because you bought me a camera or because you're letting me stay with you, but because..." He trailed off, his cheeks growing redder with each passing second. "Because you're... you're the best thing to happen to me in a long, long time. I don't expect you to say it back or anything, but I-"

Noctis cut him off with a smile and a gentle finger to his lips. "I love you, too, Blondie," he answered.

And it was true. He really, really did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [The song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjSscjWXSHQ) Noctis was practicing.  
> [The song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYxtBNvP1Xk) he played.


	16. Breathe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _did you know that i love you?  
>  come and lay with me. i love you.  
> and on this day, i love you.  
> you make me feel alive, and i'll love you  
> until the end of time._  
> [breathe](https://open.spotify.com/track/4N3SuGRzOSCtR70wraNj9Z) \- angels & airwaves

It was late, and no one else was home yet, but that was okay. Noctis knew that Gladio and Ignis had a tendency to get distracted every now and again, and that Iris and Aranea had something with their hockey team, so he didn't really expect them to be back for midnight. Each couple had invited Noctis and Prompto along to their respective plans, but the pair had decided to stay at the apartment instead. The streets around campus were pretty dangerous after midnight, and besides, a night in by themselves wasn't the _worst_ thing in the world.

They had a pizza in front of them, and on Noctis' laptop they'd watched a live stream of the Altissian New Years special, so that they'd known exactly when midnight came to kiss, but since that had come and gone, they weren't really paying too much attention to it at the moment. Instead, Noctis had ordered a whole bunch of movies. Some funny, some scary, some action... and Mulan. Prompto had mentioned an affection for Mulan, the badass princess that she was, so Noctis wanted to surprise him with it.

He'd smiled and laughed at that fact when Noctis had told him, before insisting that they play that first and have a sing along with all of the best songs. When Noctis had asked him which ones were the best, Prompto had immediately answered, "well, all of them, so prepare that singing voice, Hero."

Prompto quoted almost every line of the movie, as he rooted around in the fridge for something else to drink. Aranea had supplied them with a few wine coolers and some beer, but after Ignis' whole debacle about them drinking over half of his cooking bourbon last time, he'd made them promise to stay away from the harder stuff. So, Prompto came back to the couch with a sixth blackberry wine cooler for himself and second beer for Noctis, setting it down in front of him. "Y'know, I always thought these guys were kinda idiots for not figuring out that she was a woman," he mused, before taking a long drink.

Noctis tilted his head to the side. "How do you figure? I mean, she was pretty careful to start, right? Until the whole thing with the mountain and the firework." He made a sailing motion with his hand, as Prompto nestled back into his side.

Shrugging, Prompto pointed at the TV screen with his cast. "I mean, look at her. She doesn't even _sound_ like a guy, you know? And she has a super feminine face. I mean, I commend her for pulling it off as convincingly as she did, but the guys around her have to be a little stupid," he laughed softly.

"That was a major plot point though, wasn't it?" Noctis asked with a little half-smile. "The guys were stupid, because Mulan dropped the ball a bunch of times. Like when she was in the lake bathing and those Three Stooge idiots showed up."

Prompto's eyes went from the TV screen to Noctis. "Three Stooge _idiots_? I'll have you know that Chien-Po is basically the sweetest Disney friend ever to be a Disney friend." He nodded. "He's a bit of a jerk in the sense that he only wants his future wife to cook for him, but I guess... what more do you expect from ancient China." Taking another pull from his drink, he set it down on the coaster.

With a chuckle, Noctis shrugged his shoulders. "What about that other dude? The really tall and skinny one?" he asked. He snapped his fingers three times, trying to think of the character's name, then grunted in frustration when it didn't come to him.

"Ling?" Prompto replied. "Yeah, he's pretty okay, too. He's out there. Crazy and hilarious. Yao's a bit of a jerk, though."

Noctis hummed thoughtfully. "But isn't he the romantic of the group? The only one who doesn't want a woman for surface reasons? Like, he doesn't talk about how she's got to look a certain way or cook a certain way, all he wants is a girl to appreciate him for who he is. As weird and short and abrasive as it may be. Nothing wrong with that," he pointed out.

Prompto was smirking at him. "See? They're not Three Stooge idiots," he insisted, pinching Noctis in the ribs. When Noctis jumped and scooched down the couch a little bit, Prompto's eyes twinkled with mischief.

Catching what was inevitably going on in Prompto's mind, Noctis blinked a couple of times. "Don't you _dare_ ," he grumbled, trying hard to keep the smirk off his face but ultimately failing. Noctis' ticklishness was pretty well-known among his friends, but up until this point he'd managed to keep it a secret from Prompto, and he wanted to keep it that way.

For now, it looked like Prompto was going to listen. He sighed dramatically, leaning against Noctis and pouting. "No fun," he huffed. "Oh!" He perked right back up immediately when a familiar drum beat came from the TV. "Oh, here it comes, here it comes! Sing with me, Hero!" His hand patted against Noctis' chest like he wasn't going to accept no for an answer. " _Let's get down to business!_ " He pointed at Noctis, expecting him to take the next line.

Noctis' whole face was smiling, and he couldn't help but join in. With Prompto so happy, there was absolutely nothing he wouldn't do to keep him that way. " _To defeat the Huns..._ " he sang along, at first sounding disinterested and feigning annoyance. But as the song moved along, Prompto's enthusiasm managed to pull him into it.

That was, until the last chorus, when as Prompto sang, " _I'll... make a man... out of you..._ " and during every pause, he pinched and tickled Noctis' sides.

"Hey!" Noctis shouted, flinching away from Prompto's pinching fingers. But really, it was a relatively fruitless effort, because Prompto was in hot pursuit. Not only was he pinching and tickling, but he was smiling and crawling onto Noctis as he leaned back against the arm of the couch to 'get away' from him. He wasn't trying. Not really.

The song was over now, but Prompto had crawled up so that he was fully on top of Noctis now. All tickling had stopped. All talking had stopped. The sound of their mixed breathing was louder than the movie, even. And Noctis felt a smirk growing on his face, despite having been chased to this point by tickling fingers. He glanced up and met Prompto's eyes, watching as the mischief in his expression changed just slightly. It was a subtle difference; one that Noctis only really noticed because of their proximity and because of how closely he was examining Prompto's face. This kind of mischief, while different, wasn't unwelcome, either.

And that was when Prompto leaned down and whispered, "make a man out of me, Hero."

At first, the statement wasn't obvious in its meaning. But maybe that was Noctis' own naivety in that sense showing itself. He examined Prompto's face for a moment, before asking him about his meaning, and then blinked when he realized exactly what it meant. It wasn't a displeased blink. It wasn't an unwelcome concept or anything like that. It just took him completely off guard. They'd come close to this before. The night before Prompto's attack came to mind. Had he not been called into work that night, they probably _would_ have. The other night, too, after their Christmas gift exchange, they'd almost done it. But Ignis had knocked on the door to call them for dinner.

Right now, though... right now they were completely alone. The chance for phone calls was really, really low and Prompto was rocking his hips just slightly on top of Noctis. Slowly forward, then back. Again and again.

Noctis' breath hitched just slightly, and he swallowed thickly, reaching a hand up and using it to pull Prompto down and kiss him. Prompto gave no indication of pain, which was good, because Noctis really wasn't thinking with his upstairs brain at the moment. Even less so when Prompto's rocking motions intensified and he pressed their hips together. Noctis let out a shaky breath when Prompto broke the kiss, which changed to an approving grunt when Prompto leaned down to Noctis' ear again and whispered, "want you to be my first..."

His first. That took Noctis off-guard, and he blinked a couple of times. "F-first?" he asked.

Prompto nodded, peppering soft, open-mouthed kisses against Noctis' jaw and still rocking his hips against Noctis'. "Only," he breathed out, "but definitely first."

Heavy words, but ones that Noctis didn't disagree with in the slightest. He wanted Prompto to be his first, too. Only. But definitely first. Noctis reached up, taking the zipper of Prompto's hoodie—actually Noctis' hoodie, but he'd more or less given it to Prompto—and tugging it down. Prompto shucked it and let it fall to the floor beside the couch. The t-shirt he wore—also Noctis'; the old ratty Linkin Park one that Noctis had owned since he was seventeen looked way, way better on Prompto than it did on him, anyway—brought a smile to Noctis' face. "How is it that my clothes look better on you than on me?" he muttered up to Prompto.

"Can't say I agree with that," Prompto mused as he grabbed the bottom of the shirt and struggled slightly to pull it off.

Noctis reached up to help, gently tugging the bottom of the shirt up and over the top of Prompto's head, past his cast, and then tossing it onto the floor next to the hoodie. "We should... we should move to the bedroom," he suggested, though he was unable to keep his hands from lightly brushing against Prompto's left pectoral muscle.

Prompto nodded, giving his hips one more forward rock before slowly getting to his feet. In Prompto's pants, Noctis could _very_ clearly see the outline of his dick and how interested he was. It made his smirk go a little bit lopsided as he raked his teeth over his lower lip. It was only fair, though, because Noctis himself had risen to the occasion as well. As he got up from the couch, he took in the visage of his boyfriend standing there and the lopsided grin grew even more. Prompto approached him, capturing his lips again and sliding his fingers into the pockets of Noctis' jeans, dragging him down the hallway toward his bedroom. Four legs clumsily walked down the hallway, Noctis forward and Prompto backward, and they paused for a second against Noctis' closed bedroom door, so that Noctis could lean down and press an open-mouthed kiss to Prompto's neck and Prompto could blindly fumble for the doorknob.

The door opened, and Prompto reached down to grab the hem of Noctis' t-shirt and pull it up and over his head. Unceremoniously to the floor it went, and Prompto's hands immediately started exploring the new expanse of skin that appeared before him. He started at Noctis' chest, then his hand slid down to Noctis' abdomen, and to the hem of his pants. With the use of only one hand, Prompto fumbled a little bit with Noctis' belt buckle and the button and zipper on his pants, but when he _did_ open them, he slid them down to a pool around Noctis' ankles. Once Noctis stepped out, he turned them around and backed Noctis into the bed. When his knees hit, Noctis fell to a seated position and looked up at the wanting expression on his boyfriend's face.

"I love you, Blondie," Noctis declared as he reached forward to pull Prompto close to him. While he worked on the buttons to Prompto's button-fly jeans, he pressed gentle kisses to Prompto's stomach.

Prompto breathed out slowly, one hand coming up to tangle into Noctis' hair. "I love you, too," he whispered. They'd said it about a thousand times over the past week since they'd first said it, but Noctis never got tired of saying it or hearing it. When he was free of his pants, Prompto quickly removed his boxers on his own, before leaning down to do the same for Noctis.

Admittedly, as he looked at how... fucking _gorgeous_ Prompto looked right now, naked and open and with an absolutely _sexy_ grin on his lips, Noctis felt a little bit self-conscious. Prompto was the most beautiful person that Noctis had ever laid eyes on. Clothed, naked, whatever. He took a second to smile softly at Prompto's visage in front of him, before leaning over to his bedside table and pulling a bottle of lube from next to a small box of tissues. The sight of the tissue box made Prompto grin and Noctis blush a bit, but he didn't have time to stew on it or comment at all, because before he could open his mouth, Prompto had placed a leg on either side of his hips and leaned down to kiss him again.

"Squeeze some of that into my hand," Prompto half-commanded once the kiss broke.

The tone of his voice—incredibly sexy though it was—took Noctis off guard. He nodded and uncapped the bottle, squeezing a little harder than he intended to. More of the slick liquid than was probably necessary slid into Prompto's hand, and then down onto Noctis' thigh and onto his bed sheets. The pair laughed softly for a second about that, but as Noctis set the bottle to the side, Prompto reached down and wrapped his hand loosely around Noctis' dick. Inhaling sharply, Noctis turned his head down to glance at Prompto's hand as it made slow, languid work of covering Noctis' dick with lube.

Prompto deemed himself finished, then moved so that he was laying against Noctis' pillows. His legs were open, wordlessly inviting Noctis to come up and take him.

Noctis blinked. "Are you sure it won't hurt you? Your ribs, I mean?"

With a shake of his head, Prompto said, "I'll tell you if it does. Promise. Please, Hero," he begged.

Taking in a shaky breath, Noctis nodded and crawled up the bed so that he was between Prompto's knees. Instead of just going for it, though, like Prompto was begging him to do, Noctis picked the bottle of lubricant back up and slid some over his index, middle and ring fingers. The index finger went in first, at very first teasing Prompto's entrance with a gentle, soft touch. The soft whimper that the previously confident Prompto gave made a grin quirk across Noctis' face. In went his index finger, tentatively, while his free hand wrapped loosely around Prompto's dick. A few pushes in and out, alongside a gentle matching motion with his opposite hand, and then the middle finger joined. Prompto wriggled underneath him a bit, and Noctis used the two fingers to stretch him out just slightly. Then the third finger joined in. Prompto's hips bucked just slightly against his fingers as he lightly stretched the skin and muscle.

"P-please, Noctis."

Noctis' given name on Prompto's lips with his eyes half-lidded with pleasure was enough to make Noctis more than willing to obey. He raked his teeth over his lip, before squeezing a little more lube onto his own dick and lightly spreading it out. Then, he got onto his knees between Prompto's legs and used his hand to line himself up properly. Arching his hips forward just slightly, he pushed into Prompto and made a guttural grunt of approval. "F-fuck," he murmured.

Prompto, too, let out a gasping cry beneath him. In the other room, his ear barely picked up the sound of his phone ringing—Iris' ringtone—on the coffee table, but he made no move whatsoever to pick it up. Instead, he reached down and helped Prompto wrap his legs around Noctis' waist, and started rocking their hips together again. More. It felt _incredible_ , and he needed more. Prompto's fingertips on his good hand dug into Noctis' shoulder blade as he clung tightly and craned his head to catch Noctis' lips in a kiss.

Just as his dick brushed against Prompto's skin, he felt Prompto gasp and tighten his grasp around Noctis' shoulders, and with vague awareness of what that meant, Noctis strove to mimic the same action again. "F-fuck," Prompto whispered into his ear. "Noct, I... I can't..."

"It's okay," Noctis whispered in his ear.

And with that encouragement, Prompto came then with his head buried in Noctis' shoulder. He cried out, his voice echoing out through the otherwise quiet room, and his body tensed. The tension around Noctis' dick, too, was all he needed to push him over the edge. He came, too, clinging to Prompto like he was the only lifeline keeping him from floating away. Honestly, he felt so good right then that it might have been true.

Once again, Noctis' phone went off in the living room, and once again, it was ignored.

Noctis had vague awareness of laying Prompto back down against the pillows. He had full awareness, though, of pressing a lazy kiss to his boyfriend's lips as he pulled his dick back out. He _also_ had full awareness of the completely and totally dopily happy expression on his own face as he met Prompto's eyes. He was at least _some_ what sure, too, of the fact that Prompto was happy. He was smiling, his eyes were smiling, and he held Noctis so close that Noctis couldn't even get away if he wanted to.

"Happy New Year, Blondie," Noctis chuckled softly, after pressing a soft kiss to Prompto's forehead.

Prompto chuckled softly. "You're telling me, Hero."

They lay there like that for awhile, about a half an hour, before Noctis' cell phone rang in the living room. Once again, it was Iris' ringtone. With a sigh, and a promise that he'd be right back, he pressed another kiss to Prompto's lips before standing up, tugging his boxers on and jogging into the living room. Awareness settled in, too, that they were still home alone. Ignis and Gladio, at the very least, were supposed to be back by now, weren't they? He somehow managed to get to his phone before it finished ringing and picked it up. "What's up, Iris? Couldn't wait another day to wish me a Hap-"

But Iris interrupted him with a sharp—but alarmingly sad—tone in her voice. "Noct, stop. It's... it's Iggy and Gladdy..." she explained, pausing to breathe for a second. "You and Prompto need to come to the hospital."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a companion piece to this chapter--which should be read _after_ you finish reading this!--and was written by the lovely [nicoleiacross](http://archiveofourown.org/users/nicoleiacross/pseuds/nicoleiacross), located [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9338759)! You should check it out!!!


	17. Battle Born

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _up against the wall; there's something dying on the street.  
>  when they knock you down, you're gonna get back on your feet.  
> no, you can't stop now..._  
> [battle born](https://open.spotify.com/track/4SMt30cXWEKQ5RmfACRZ5O) \- the killers

They'd spent far, far too much time in this hospital lately. Noctis had paced up and down the hallway so many times he had lost count, since he still wasn't allowed to see Ignis. Ignis hadn't woken up. The accident had happened at midnight, it was nearing eight thirty and Ignis still hadn't woken up. When Noctis asked the doctors and nurses if he was going to be okay, the answer was always short and simple: that Noctis wasn't family to either of them, and that if he wanted answers, he would have to wait until Ignis woke up and gave the okay. Iris and Aranea were spending almost all of their time in Gladio's room, and when they _weren't_ in there, Noctis figured they were going through too much to be asked for too many details.

Prompto was in the cafeteria, getting them their fifth round of coffee. Noctis made a final pace down the hall, settling himself into one of the chairs and resting his leg on the table in the middle of the room. That earned him a glare from one of the nurses in the nurse's station, but he didn't care. He didn't even move his leg.

If they wanted him to move, they could tell him how Ignis was doing.

Gladio, at the very least, had woken up. With airbag burns on his chest, a broken arm, a fracture in his skull, a trio of busted ribs, and a busted hip... but he was awake. According to Aranea, though, it hadn't exactly been easy to manage him. Every time he woke up, the only thing he ever did was asked for Ignis. Iris insisted that Noctis going into the room right now would just add more fuel to the fire and make him more determined to get up and see Ignis. He'd already fought and popped his stitches twice, Aranea had explained. _"What we really need from you, Pretty Boy, is to wait and be there when Brains is allowed to have visitors."_

Noctis would do it, of course. Like it? No. But do it. He tapped his foot anxiously against the table, each tap making the table move just slightly under his foot. But just like last time he'd made a scene in the waiting room, he couldn't care less. This _was_ his family, whether or not the doctors would recognize it. And just because of some stupid rules, Noctis was left on the outside and Ignis was stuck in his room by himself.

A hand touched his arm, and Noctis raised his head sharply, his last experience in this hospital still fresh in his mind. Half of him expected to see Ardyn when he lifted his head, but when it was Prompto instead, he exhaled a steady stream of breath through his nose and muttered an apology to his boyfriend. "Didn't mean to jump. Just on edge."

Prompto nodded, offering Noctis his cup of coffee. "I know," he replied, his voice calm and collected. Not the usual eager and excitable Prompto that Noctis had gotten used to. And why would he be? "Any word on Ignis yet?" His tone held the tiniest sliver of hope.

But Noctis dashed it by shaking his head no. "Can't get in to see him. The only one who could is Gladio, and he can't." For obvious reasons. Noctis eyed the coffee, wanted to drink it—really, he did—but his stomach was doing uncomfortable somersaults inside of him right now and he was afraid that he'd throw it back up.

"Aranea said that Gladio's statement to the cops was really, really confusing," Prompto explained. "Said something about three cars from three directions and a parking lot and the rest of it was just him asking desperately if he could see Ignis." His voice was guilty, like he didn't want to bring this up and make things all the more difficult for Noctis. "But three cars from three directions sounds..."

It sounded like it wasn't an accident, was what it sounded like. But that was just speculation, and not just that, but speculation from a man who hadn't been lucid at all since he'd woken up. Recent history, though... it had Noctis wondering about the circumstances. Maybe Gladio _was_ just delirious when he woke up. In the back of Noctis' mind, though, all he could think was that somehow, in some way, Ardyn was involved. It made him feel paranoid, almost. Crazy. Because what indication, without any clear picture of what happened, did they have?

Still, Noctis couldn't help but wonder. Ardyn had been out to make his life hell from day one. Was it beyond him to set up something like this?

Prompto was staring into his coffee cup, quietly pondering, and he turned to look up at Noctis. "What're you thinking, Hero?" he asked calmly, trying to take the place that Ignis usually took of being the anchor that kept Noctis from losing his mind. Or getting lost _in_ his mind. Neither one sounded good, and Noctis was honestly glad for the distraction so that it didn't happen.

He heaved a sigh and shrugged a shoulder. "That I'm going insane?" he chuckled bitterly.

"Why?" Prompto asked, taking a sip from his coffee.

Noctis sighed softly. "Ardyn. I can't help but think that he had something to do with this. It's like... after what happened to you, and knowing that he did _something_ , whatever it was... I don't know. I just want to know what happened. And I want Specs to wake up. I mean, aside from the obvious, I want him to wake up so that we can eliminate the possibility that Ardyn had anything to do with it."

He felt Prompto's hand on top of his and flipped his own hand over to clasp them together. Prompto looked like he was about to say something, but when he opened his mouth, a very different voice filled the room.

Sounding as smarmy and supercilious as ever, Ardyn's voice filled the room. "I do like coming into a room at just the right moment to hear someone talking about me," the man announced, removing his hat and brushing past Prompto and Noctis to settle in the chair on Noctis' opposite side.

Noctis felt his eyes narrowing, and he actually had to make a conscious effort not to squeeze Prompto's hand. The cast would keep it from hurting too much, but Noctis didn't want to take the risk and chance hurting his hand all over again. It was enough that he'd managed to twine his fingers with Noctis'. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" The words came out far, far sharper than Noctis intended for them to, but the man's presence did nothing but lend credence to Noctis' suspicions. Besides that, he wasn't exactly in control of his emotions.

With a scoff, Ardyn tilted his head to the side. "Why, I'd heard rumors that two of your friends were in a terrible accident, and I had to come and ensure that they were okay, of course," he remarked as he leered at Noctis, placing a hand on his chest. Peering at Noctis and Prompto's entwined hands, the leer only grew. "Is there any word?" he asked, feigning concern.

It was offensive, how nonchalant and casual he was about everything. Ignis _hadn't woken up_. Gladio was _incensed_. Iris was inconsolable and Aranea, Noctis, and Prompto were helpless. But for some reason, to this man who had _some_ how been put in charge of all of them, the whole situation was treated like an average day-to-day. Noctis felt his temper boiling underneath his skin. His eyes narrowed, and he turned to look over at Prompto. His boyfriend's eyes were narrowed angrily, too, and that only served to make Noctis angrier. If it was just him, that was one thing. But this was very much another.

"Not going to answer me?" Ardyn asked. "And here I was thinking that my concern would be appreciated."

Before Noctis could answer, Prompto spoke up. "The same way your concern for _me_ was appreciated? Yeah right," he seethed.

Ardyn laughed softly. "I suppose that's true," he commented casually. "I must say, Noct; it shows _remarkable_ fortitude to look past all you learned and still-"

"Don't finish that sentence," Noctis growled. He didn't even want to know where the rest of that sentence was going, and he _really_ wasn't in the mood to do this with Ardyn today. "My affairs, my life, my _friends'_ lives, _Prompto's_ life... they're none of your damn business. So, why don't you _piss off_ and find somewhere that you're welcome?"

Each word he spoke saw his voice raising more and more. He'd released Prompto's hand, gotten to his feet, and was pointing at Ardyn like he knew _exactly_ what he was about. He didn't. He had a pretty good idea, but there were still too many questions without answers. Several eyes—both of passersby and nurses from the nurse's station—were on him now. He didn't care. It seemed like every time something happened in his life or the lives of those around him, Ardyn was there, taunting him about the bad or trying to cut away the good.

Sighing a calm, casual, put upon sigh, Ardyn turned to look from Noctis to Prompto with a glib smile on his face. "I try so hard to look out for my students and this is what I get?" He reached up to push Noctis' arm aside, before narrowing his eyes. "Do tell Gladiolus and Ignis, if he wakes up, of course, to take care to be more clandestine next time they research the wrong things in my school's library, will you, dear boy?" The smile faded into something of a disgusted scowl. "I would positively _hate_ to think what would happen to them if the wrong people caught them next time."

Noctis felt fury bubbling in the pit of his stomach. His fists balled at his sides and his heart hammered in his chest. He was _right_. Ardyn hadn't spoken the words, of course. But the words that he _did_ speak led Noctis to _exactly_ that conclusion. Prompto's fight. This. One by one, Ardyn was hurting every person that was dear to Noctis and because no one was listening—because no one _would_ listen—he would be allowed to continue.

Ardyn moved to brush past him, casting Prompto a repulsive glare as he moved past. "I was going to stay and have a word with them when I had the chance, but I can clearly see that I'm not welcome here."

His words _reached_ Noctis' ear. They did. But he didn't register them. His own blind fury, and his desperation to get someone to _notice_ what the man who was supposed to be in charge of caring for the students on campus and ensuring that they were _safe_ was actually doing, wouldn't let him think of anything but the desire to make Ardyn hurt. Somehow. _Somehow_.

Prompto was on his feet at Noctis' side, with a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him, but Noctis shook his head no and brushed him off. The next few seconds played out in something of a movie slow motion in Noctis' mind. He turned from Prompto's attempt to cool him down and stormed down the hallway after Ardyn. He was past the nurse's station now, in a long expanse of hallway only inhabited by storage closets that led to the elevator at the end of the hall. He reached a hand up and grabbed Ardyn's shoulder, yanking sharply on it and waiting until he turned around.

Ardyn's words, "come to apologize, dear boy?" didn't even register. Nor did Prompto's hurried steps behind him, trying to stop him.

He hadn't come to apologize. Not in the slightest. One of his balled fists raised, and he pulled back with all of his strength and punched Ardyn square in the jaw. The loud crack of impact was surprising, even to Noctis. It was _that_ that brought him back to reality. As well as the sudden heat of pain in his hand. It wasn't excruciating—he hadn't broken his hand or anything—but it was still enough to jar him back into reality. In that instant, he went from an enraged protector avenging his friends, to a terrified kid squaring off against a man twice his age.

"L-leave us alone," Noctis stammered, trying to keep the same seriousness and threat in his tone that he'd had before. But the gravity of exactly what he'd just done came over him in a wave, and he couldn't keep the facade up.

The laugh that Ardyn gave in response was more amused than anything else, as he pressed a hand to where Noctis' fist had landed. It hadn't fazed him much, at least not visibly, and the look he gave Noctis now was even more terrifying than the realization of what he'd just done. "That, Noct, was a rather colossal mistake."

Before he could expand on how colossal a mistake it was, though, Aranea stepped around Noctis, placing herself squarely between him and Ardyn. In the reflection of the slightly tinted window, he saw the fierce glare in her eyes as she looked at Ardyn. "Leave. Or I'll make you," she seethed.

Ardyn laughed again, looking down at Aranea like he wanted to crush her like a bug. "Is that any way to talk to a man who has just been _assaulted_ , dear girl?" he asked her.

"Don't care. Get out," she insisted, pointing at the elevator as it arrived on their floor. She grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him inside.

Noctis stared at Ardyn's scowling face as the door closed, his stomach turning with worry about exactly what Ardyn had meant by his warning. A colossal mistake. Noctis knew, of course, that the mistake was colossal. Even without whatever Ardyn had been implying, he'd _punched_ the _Dean of Students_. Hospitals had cameras. With the proper word to the proper person, not only could Ardyn have Noctis barred from visiting his friends as they recovered, but he could _also_ have Noctis thrown out of school. Sued, even. One minute of uncontrollable anger, and Noctis' whole life might have just been ruined.

"Hero?" Prompto's voice cut into his thoughts.

Aranea, too, spoke up. "Pretty Boy!" she snapped. "Did you hear me?"

Shaking himself out of his stupor, Noctis blinked twice. "N-no. Sorry," he murmured as he tried to keep himself from worrying about his own problems.

With a hand on his shoulder, Aranea shook him slightly, trying to snap him out of his thoughts further. She didn't have to, though. He was already securely there. "I said, Brains woke up about five minutes ago. The doctors are looking him over right now, but they said it should be about ten minutes before we can see him."

That shot Noctis right back into reality, and he blinked twice. Ignis was awake. Aranea walked them down the hall, just in time to see Iris pushing a tearful Gladio out of his room in a wheelchair. It was no surprise that he'd insisted on seeing Ignis as soon as he'd learned that he was awake. He'd probably threatened to make the doctors' and nurses' lives hell until they gave in and let him. Ignis would have done the same if roles had been reversed. He would have shaken the whole hospital to its core to be with Gladio. As it stood right now, though, Gladio looked... terrible. This was the first that Noctis was seeing of him, and between the gauze around his head and the casts all over the rest of him... Noctis suddenly regretted punching Ardyn a whole lot less.

Gladio didn't look anywhere but at the door to Ignis' room, like that was the only place in the world that he needed to be, which made perfect sense. The hand not in the cast gripped the arm of the wheelchair with a level of fury that Noctis had never seen Gladio carry before. That, too, made sense.

Prompto's hand found its way to Noctis' shoulder, in both an act of supporting Noctis and a request for support himself, Noctis assumed. Pulling himself from his own head, Noctis reached over and wrapped his arms around Prompto loosely, pulling him in for a gentle hug. Prompto leaned into him and hugged him back with his uninjured arm, and Noctis glanced at Aranea over Prompto's shoulder.

"Yeah," Aranea mouthed. She was training her face carefully to seem serious and be a rock for them, but Noctis could just barely see the emotion underneath. "It's bad."

And if Gladio was this bad off, he found himself wondering how Ignis was doing. Iris left the room a couple of moments later, tears streaming down her cheeks as she hurried over to Aranea. Noctis watched as Aranea scooped Iris into her arms and hugged her tightly, rubbing her back as she sobbed. Noctis pressed a kiss to the side of Prompto's head, not caring who saw right then, and hugged him close. This was their family, damn it.

Prompto mumbled against Noctis' shoulder, and Noctis could barely make out the words, "my fault."

Noctis pulled back from the hug and looked Prompto in the eye. "What?" he asked, trying to calm himself so that he could be there for an obviously distressed Prompto. Noctis reached up to wipe some tears from Prompto's cheeks. It turned out to be fruitless, because more tears just appeared in their place seconds later.

"This is... it's my fault. They were doing that research for me and because of what happened to me and now-"

As Iris pulled her head from Aranea's shoulder, she shook it from side to side. "No, it's not," she told Prompto, reaching a hand out and squeezing his shoulder. "It's... it's the person—people, whatever—who did it to them. Don't blame yourself, Prompto. Blame... blame them. Whoever they are."

Noctis nodded his agreement, brushing some of Prompto's hair back from his face. "Blame _Ardyn_ ," he added. "You heard what he said."

"Ardyn?" Iris asked.

Jaw clenched, Noctis nodded his acknowledgment. "He was here. Said to tell them to be more careful what they took from the library. And that he'd 'hate to think what would happen to them next time.'" He didn't mention anything after that. This wasn't about him and his stupid mistake. This was about Ignis and Gladio and what had happened to them.

Aranea's voice was a low rumble when she announced, "I'd be perfectly fine if he dropped off the face of the earth."

Prompto was still frowning; Noctis could tell by the expression on his face that he was still blaming himself. Rather than say anything, Noctis pulled him close and hugged him again, promising him without words that it wasn't his fault. Later, he'd promise him for real. Later, he'd make sure that Prompto knew that it was _Ardyn's_ fault. And that he had every intention of picking up Ignis and Gladio's research right where they left off. There was no way in hell that Ardyn was going to get away with any of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a companion piece to this chapter and the last chapter--which should be read _before_ you read this chapter!--and was written by the lovely [nicoleiacross](http://archiveofourown.org/users/nicoleiacross/pseuds/nicoleiacross), located [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9338759)! You should check it out!!!


	18. Brave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _say what you wanna say,  
>  and let the words fall out.  
> honestly, i wanna see you be brave!_  
> [brave](https://open.spotify.com/track/6Uy6K3KdmUdAfelUp0SeXn) \- sara bareilles

Ignis was... worse off than Gladio. Significantly worse, actually. The doctor had used the term "shattered" when he referenced the bones in Ignis' right shin. Noctis had heard vague talk of Ignis eventually needing to have an artificial bone in his shin and kneecap, as well as possibly in his wrist, if the bones didn't heal properly. He'd gotten through without too much by way of a head injury, but the seat belt had cracked two of his ribs and done some kind of damage to his collarbone. He had a minor fracture in one of the discs in his spine as well—no paralysis, the doctor had said—but that wasn't even the worst part.

His eyes were covered completely by a loose wrapping of gauze. There was some odd circular patch underneath the gauze on each eye, something that Noctis hadn't seen before, and it made him wonder exactly how bad his eyes were underneath there. According to the doctor—who had allowed them all in after Ignis had declared them _all_ his family, and insisted that they not be kept out if they wanted to get in and see him—Ignis would be lucky if he ever saw clearly again.

"Is everyone here?" Ignis asked, his voice very quiet and very scratchy. And the fact that he even needed to ask made Noctis' heart break.

Gladio spoke up from beside him, with a hand on his hand. "Yeah. Yeah, we're all here. Don't strain too much, though. You-"

But Ignis stopped him with a shake of his head. He tried to stop the groan that came when he moved his head, but he couldn't. "I'll be fine," he muttered. "Do you know when the police will be here?" Ignis, who had always been an incredibly expressive person, simply had his head facing the ceiling.

Iris said, "the nurse said they were on their way. But don't strain yourself too much trying to remember, Iggy. It's... we're just glad you're awake." She had finally stopped crying, but now her eyes were red and puffy, and she just looked like she wanted to fall over and sleep.

Noctis understood that feeling. They really had been there all night. But none of them had wanted to leave until they'd seen Ignis with their own eyes. Noctis turned to look back at Ignis now, swallowing thickly and blinking back some tears of his own. Not right now. Not like this. Gladio and Ignis needed him to keep himself together. Steeling himself and giving himself a mental shake, he turned to glance over at Prompto as he wiped some tears from his eyes.

"I'm not straining to remember," Ignis insisted. "I remember it all."

That seemed to surprise even Gladio, who blinked a couple of times from his wheelchair. "Are you sure?" he asked. "'Cause some of it is even hazy to me, and I don't... I just don't want-"

Ignis nodded, though, turning his head toward Gladio's voice, even though he couldn't see his face with the cover over his eyes. "I'm sure, Gladio. I remember everything. At least everything after I finally closed the book." He tried to give a humorless laugh, Noctis could tell. But it fell short and became more of a breath through his nose. And it seemed that even that hurt him.

The room was silent. It was clear that everyone wanted to ask, but they were hesitating, for obvious reasons. Ignis was suffering. No one wanted to make him relive what had gone on in the car any more than he had to. Gladio, too, seemed curious. Even though he'd talked about what had happened, he only seemed to remember three cars coming at them. The silence coated the room heavily, and no one was really looking at each other _or_ at Ignis. It was pretty obvious, though, that they were all trying to fight the instinct to ask.

"Think you can share any of it with us?" Aranea finally spoke up. She gave him the option, which was good, because if she hadn't, then Noctis would have been upset. "If you want to, I mean. If it's too much, you don't-"

But Ignis, as usual, wasn't deterred by things that most people probably would have been deterred by. "No. It isn't too much," he insisted. "It was near midnight, and we were parked on the shoulder near the liquor store to ring the New Year in." He struggled a bit to speak, his voice scratchy and tired, but in a classic Ignis move, he refused to allow it to stop him from making the truth known. "I believe there were three cars."

Gladio interjected. "That much, I remember."

"The back one hit first. Gladio held me back from getting knocked forward, which was good, because my airbag didn't deploy right away." Ignis spoke out into the air, at the ceiling, not turning his head one way or another. "But then it did when the second one hit the front. And I was pinned in place."

At first, Gladio responded by leaning forward with a grunt of pain—which didn't stop him—and reaching out to place his hand on Ignis'. "I didn't mean to..." he choked, moisture lining his eyes again.

Ignis closed his hand around Gladio's. "I know," he answered, his voice quiet, calm. Like he was trying to tell Gladio that it was okay. Something told Noctis that Gladio wasn't convinced, though. "The third hit was a repeat. I think the car in the back must have backed up to go for a second strike. The only one who did," he explained. "I... I heard Gladio's head hit the steering wheel." His voice was quiet, desolate, at that. "But before I could turn to look, I spotted the third car."

"It came straight for you," Gladio stated somberly, like he'd just remembered something he'd learned long ago. "Straight for the passenger's side."

With a hum of affirmation, Ignis finally turned his head so that he was facing Gladio. He couldn't see him, but it was a far more personal gesture than just staring, unseeing, at the ceiling. "It's not your fault, Gladio," he insisted, his voice barely a whisper as he smoothed his fingers over the top of Gladio's hand.

Gladio shook his head no. "I could have kept going."

"But what would that have done? If they were waiting for us, they would have found us when we were still moving. And..." Ignis trailed off for a moment, before speaking up again. "And it would have been worse. We're alive." 

They were alive. But they almost hadn't been. Noctis blinked hard, pushing back his own tears right now. _Be strong for Prompto. Be strong for Iris. And for Gladio and Ignis, especially,_ he told himself. "You're alive," Noctis repeated, gathering Gladio's attention from where he sat on the other side of Ignis' bed. "And there is no way that whoever did this to you is going to get away with it." He didn't accuse Ardyn; didn't want to mention the fact that Ardyn might have been involved to Gladio, because if he had, there was no force on Eos that would be able to keep Gladio from trying to seek vengeance. Nor did he point out his intent to continue what they'd started. They didn't need to worry about anything for now. Anything but getting better.

Ignis, from the bed, had turned his head toward the others now. "Noct, we'll be okay," he promised.

The reassurance, while classic of Ignis—no matter how poorly he felt, he always wanted to ensure that Noctis was okay, too—was unwanted at the moment. "I know you will," he replied.

Lips in a thin straight line, Ignis seemed disbelieving. "I want you to be careful," he pointed out. "Because I have a sneaking suspicion that Dean Izunia is behind this as well." His voice was quiet and conspiratorial. There was no one else in the room, but who knew what other methods people had to hear what was being said in this room?

Noctis glanced at Prompto, who was worrying his lip in his mouth. Ignis was an incredibly intelligent man. Sometimes, Noctis thought that maybe he had some sort of extrasensory perception. He always seemed to know what Noctis was going to do before he did it, and was always there with a word of advice on whatever it was.

"How do you figure?" he asked.

Ignis turned his eyes back to the ceiling. "It's far too convenient to be an accident," he explained. "I know that the Alliance are all over campus, but they've never used vehicles to carry their violence out before. It feels far too convenient, and after what happened to Prompto, and the involvement carrot that Ardyn has all but placed on a stick in front of us. Yes, Gladio and I are far more open about our relationship, but we've never not been. Until these issues with the Dean, we've never encountered any problems."

"Before you came to," Noctis admitted, "he all but told me. He said to be careful what books you took out of the library, because he would 'hate to see what would happen to you next time.'" He was careful not to mention what had happened afterward. Ignis didn't need to worry about him right now.

Aranea glanced at him like she was wondering if he would, but when he didn't, she turned back to look at Gladio and Ignis.

Before anyone spoke any further, the door swung open and a nurse walked through. She glanced between everyone in the group, seeming slightly suspicious of how silent the room had fallen when she came inside. After a few seconds, Ignis spoke up again, though. "You should all go and get some rest at home," he pointed out.

Iris objected. "I don't want to lea-"

But Gladio cut her off. "We're okay, Iris. Iggy's right. You've all been here all night. If you try and sleep here, you'll never get to sleep. Go home, guys," he insisted. "You can come back tomorrow morning." Gladio's eyes raised to watch the nurse as she checked Ignis' vital signs again.

With her hands on Iris' shoulders, Aranea glanced over at Noctis. "We had a friend at the party drive us here. Think you could bring us home?"

Noctis frowned. He really didn't want to leave, but he knew that it was probably for the best. All four of them had been up for at least twenty-four hours, and if Noctis wanted to dig back in and take over for Gladio and Ignis, then he would need to be rested. He turned his gaze on Prompto, who was looking at him with concern. Noctis blinked a couple of times, the realization that he'd been up for as long as he had bringing a bit of exhaustion to the foreground. He heaved a deep and heavy sigh, turning to glance back over at Ignis. Even without seeing his eyes, he could see the expectation in his expression. Like he knew that his decision was the right one.

"Alright," Noctis finally agreed, if only because going home himself was the only way that Prompto, Iris, and Aranea could go home and get rest, too.

With a few words to the nurse, and only after she promised to call them if they needed anything, Noctis and the others left the hospital. The drive home was slow and deliberate, as were most of the other drivers on the road that day. Everyone else's snail pace was likely because of New Year's Day hangovers, but not theirs. The walk into the apartment was somber, too. Noctis couldn't help but note the empty parking spot on the other side of the room, and it drew his lips down into a frown again. Emotion threatened to bubble over once more, but Noctis pulled in a sharp, deep breath, blinking the tears away and swallowing the lump down. He couldn't fall apart. Not now. Not like this.

After a brief wish of 'good night,' where Iris had managed a weak joke of how it wasn't even nighttime anymore, the four friends split into their pairs and wandered into their respective rooms to try and get some rest.

Noctis, however, couldn't sleep. Worry kept his eyes open. Worry about Ignis and his eyesight. Worry about Gladio and his rationality, when the only person in the world who was ever good at calming him was as hurt as he was. Worry about Iris, and how she felt about her brother—brothers, really—being in this situation.

Worry about Prompto, too. In the hospital, he'd been so adamant to blame himself. In the moment, Iris and Noctis had been enough to convince him that it wasn't his fault. In the moment, Prompto had at least seemed somewhat appeased by the insistence that nobody blamed him. But Prompto was the type of person who would internalize that, just like he'd internalized all of his worries about being judged for where he came from. Noctis reached a hand over to his boyfriend's sleeping form and pushed some hair from his face, hoping that the movement wasn't enough to wake him up.

But he winced when Prompto's eyes blinked shut even tighter, before fluttering open. "What're you still doing awake?" Prompto asked in a half-asleep tone. His voice wasn't accusatory. Just worried.

"Can't sleep," Noctis murmured in response, his lips curling into a frown. "Wasn't trying to wake you up, either."

He grumbled at himself. _Then why'd you touch him?_ The hair in Prompto's eyes obviously hadn't been bothering him. He'd been sleeping through it. But Noctis had seen fit to reach out and push it away.

Prompto moved just slightly, propping himself up on the elbow of his uninjured arm and leaning just slightly so that he was closer to Noctis. "What's up, Hero?" he asked, reaching his arm in the cast down and brushing Noctis' hair from his face. "You should be out like a light right now. Especially you. With how much you like to sleep." The smile on his lips was weak, like he didn't really feel it.

Noctis swallowed thickly. "Can't. Like I said."

Bright blue eyes bared down on him, not in anger, but in concern, and Noctis found himself blinking a slow blink. The emotion that he'd been holding back bubbled a little closer to the surface, and Noctis felt his lower lip quivering a bit before he could stop it. He felt heat behind his eyes and his vision started to blur with moisture.

"It's okay, Noctis," Prompto insisted, dropping the nickname in his seriousness. "You don't have to be Hero all the time. Sometimes you can just be concerned for your friends."

It was like those were the magic words. Noctis wasn't sure why it was so simple to push him past the line of 'barely holding on,' but as usual, Prompto managed to take things that he usually considered solidly in place and change them. He swallowed hard, blinked just as hard, and some of the tears he'd been holding back leaked out.

Prompto moved his body just slightly, resting his head on Noctis' shoulder. "Sometimes to be a Hero, you have to rely on someone else to carry the load with you," he murmured.

Noctis reached over and pulled him close, holding him and nodding his head. Prompto couldn't see the nod, no, but the rest of the motion probably conveyed how appreciative he was. "Ignis and Gladio are... they're the strongest people I know. Wh-when I was growing up?" he paused, sniffling and staring up at the ceiling. "I always thought Gladio was like Superman, you know? Invincible and badass. Nothing could hurt him. And Ignis was way, way too smart to get hurt. Always careful. Always... always cool. Like Batman." When he glanced back down from the ceiling, Prompto's head was craned up so that he was looking up at Noctis.

"Even Batman and Superman can't control everything, though," Prompto pointed out, reaching his hand up and wiping a couple of tears from Noctis' cheek.

Nodding, Noctis swallowed thickly. "Exactly. And if they can't, then _no_ one can," he half-joked, choking out a laugh.

With his eyes on Noctis, Prompto brushed his fingertips along Noctis' cheek again. "They're tough, though. I mean, they made it through." His words were reassuring, sure. But his voice... it looked like he was just barely holding back tears, too.

Noctis nodded. "I mean, would Superman and Batman ever die from a car crash?" His voice was still thick with tears, and his eyes were still burning, but the tiniest smile came to his face. "I'm just worried. Ignis is so composed and awesome, but what about his eyes? The doctors... they said that they were too damaged. That he'd... that he'd never get his eyesight back."

Prompto was leaning his head against Noctis' shoulder again. Against his bare skin, he could feel the moisture of the tears falling from Prompto's eyes. "I know," he agreed.

"I need to get to the bottom of what Ardyn has to do with all of this. Why... why he was so determined to hurt you. And Gladio and Ignis and... why he always seems to be there everywhere I turn, hurting everyone I love." Noctis' eyes turned downward, looking at Prompto when he spoke the word love. How long would it be before he went after Prompto again?

Turning his head, Prompto's glistening blue eyes glanced back up to Noctis. "What're you going to do?" he asked.

It wouldn't have done Noctis any good to lie, honestly. He'd never been a good liar, and he was sure that Prompto would see right through him. "I'm going to research it. Pick up where Gladio and Ignis left off, and find out exactly what that bastard is hiding. How did he know what he knew about you? Why would he set Ignis and Gladio up like this? What... what could he have planned next?" At those words, Noctis held Prompto just a little bit tighter.

"But what if..." Prompto's voice shook a little. "What if he goes for you next?" he asked. "After... after what happened at the hospital, what if you-"

Noctis swallowed. "I don't know," he answered, tears springing to his eyes again. "But I can't... I can't, Prompto. He can't get away with it."

Prompto didn't answer with words at first. Instead, he scooted up on the bed a little and pressed his lips to Noctis'. When the kiss broke, he pushed some hair from Noctis' face once more, nodded and said, "I'll help you, then." And before Noctis could protest, Prompto silenced him with another brief kiss. "You guys are my family. I'm... I'll do anything for them. _Absolutely_ anything for you. If you're... if you're going to do it, and put yourself under fire to find answers about someone who's also out for me? Then... then I'm going to do it, too. And please don't try to stop me."

Protests formed behind Noctis' lips, but he didn't voice them. It was fair. This was as much Prompto's fight as it was his. More, even. Noctis wasn't going to begrudge him the chance of being involved in the fight to square things out. In the corner of his mind, a worry flashed. Ardyn's warning—about how colossal a mistake he'd made—jumped into his mind, but he pushed it back. Whatever it was... he'd have to hope that it didn't rear its head. For now, he tried to relax his mind to get to sleep by carding his fingers through Prompto's hair.

"Alright, Blondie. We'll look into it together," he answered.


	19. See Through

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _i am see through, baby; so take a look inside.  
>  i am see through, baby; and i don't wanna hide,  
> for the very first time._  
> [see through](https://open.spotify.com/track/6UNqsxeupIqwNds2oSDYnY) \- pentatonix

Noctis felt terrible taking a break from his research. At the same time, though, he couldn't deny a surge of excitement as he and Prompto made their way to Alstor. Ignis and Gladio were both on the mend—barring Ignis' leg, the surgery for which was planned for a week from that day—and most of Noctis' time that wasn't spent in the hospital with them was spent in the living room with Prompto, going through the books that they'd gotten from Ignis' car. Iris and Aranea had also insisted on helping as soon as they'd figured out what was going on. Involving them, Noctis supposed, was better than them going to tell Gladio and Ignis and having them put a stop to it completely.

And besides, eight eyes were better than four.

But now wasn't the time to focus on that. As Noctis stopped the car in front of the Human Society, even with everything that was happening, he couldn't help but let a little bit of his excitement bubble over. A cat. He still couldn't believe that Prompto had prepaid the fee to get him a cat. Except, he absolutely could. Prompto was just like that. Thoughtful.

It still didn't change the tiny pang of bitterness he felt, though. This should have been an endlessly happy thing. It was something he'd always wanted, but as a child, his dad hadn't wanted pets, and before he'd started college his apartment wouldn't allow them. The dorms, too, were an obvious reason that he still didn't have one. So, as he stood in front of the Humane Society with his boyfriend, planning to go and pick up his first pet, he should have been ecstatic. But the weight of the fact that Ignis and Gladio were still in such bad shape, and the people who had put them in such bad shape were still out there somewhere, was weighing him down.

He walked around the car, glancing over at Prompto on the other side of the car as he waited for another car to pass in front of him. It was nice to see his arm finally out of his cast. For the past two days, he'd had full use of both of his hands and ever since he'd gotten it back, he'd been making up for lost time by taking pictures of absolutely everything he passed by. The camera that Noctis had bought for him was always around his neck now, ready at any given moment to snap a selfie. Or a picture of anything they passed that happened to catch his eye.

A lot had caught his eye on the way to Alstor. The high-piled snowbanks from their record snowfall winter, especially when they'd passed through a residential area and Prompto had spotted a monstrous snow castle that a group of neighborhood of kids had built. It didn't look like it had any right to have been built by children, it was so fabulously detailed. Patterns were carved into the sides, food coloring was used to turn the walls a deep purple... it really was pretty impressive. He'd taken a couple of pictures of a pair of gray squirrels, too, as they chased each other around someone's yard.

Noctis allowed the tiniest of mischievous smiles to cross his face as he stopped by a snowbank that was near the front of the car. In his gloved hand, he collected a bit of snow, before closing the distance between himself and Prompto. Prompto, it seemed, was suspicious of the grin and arched an eyebrow. But before he could move away, Noctis raised his arm and plopped the snow down onto Prompto's head, ruffling his hair to rub it in a little bit. The grin grew to a full blown smile, as he brought his hand back down to his side and wiped the remaining snow off.

At first, Prompto just stood there, frozen, like the touch of the snow had frozen him solid. Then, seconds later, his face shifted and he looked down at where his camera hung from his neck. "Hero!" he whined. "The camera! What if you got snow inside of it and ruined it?" He raised the camera, pointed it at Noctis, and snapped a picture.

The flash in his eyes made Noctis blink for a few seconds, and apparently, that was all the time that Prompto needed to push lightly and send Noctis tumbling into the snowbank he'd just gathered snow from. His whole right side was buried, and Prompto still stood exactly where he was before, overcome by a fit of laughter.

Suddenly, he didn't care about how snow-covered he was. As long as that smile and that laugh stayed where they were.

"Talk about a cheap shot!" Noctis murmured, as he tried to push himself up and out of the snow, only to have his hand break through the white powder and sink him further in.

Prompto, though still laughing, walked forward and extended an arm. "My hair wants to talk to you about cheap shots," he teased, beckoning with his fingers for Noctis to take his hand. "C'mon, Frosty. Let's get you out of that snowbank before you become an extra in the live action cast of Frozen, okay?"

Noctis laughed softly, rolling onto his back in the snowbank, but then the smirk on his face grew a little bit wider. He reached for Prompto's hand and grabbed it, but rather than using it to pick himself up, he tugged just slightly, bringing Prompto closer, and then sending him tumbling down right on top of Noctis. Prompto, who had realized what was happening and held the camera out away from him to keep it from hitting the snow or being crushed between their two bodies, landed with an "oof!" and smiled down at his boyfriend.

"Well, now you've done it," Prompto commented, his lips quirking into a loving smile even with his words. "Now we're both stuck like this and there's no one to help us up. We're both gonna freeze and look like the world's most lifelike ice sculpture."

Smirking, Noctis ticked one shoulder up in a shrug. "Unless we make it warmer here. Maybe we can melt the snow around us and keep each other warm." He reached his free hand up and brushed some melting snow from Prompto's hair. There was no one else around outside the building, so this was okay. And maybe it would've been, even if there was.

Prompto seemed to think so. He laughed softly, leaning down and pressing his lips to Noctis'. "I like the way you think, Hero."

A few more stolen kisses in the snow, and they realized that they would probably be late for their appointment if they weren't careful. Noctis helped Prompto to his feet, and Prompto finally helped Noctis back up too, and even though Noctis damp with cold, melted-snow moisture, he couldn't find it in himself to complain. After spending all of their free time doing all of this research, a little time to remind each other that they were in love was nice. They neared the door of the humane society now, and Noctis paused for a second, smiling over at Prompto in consideration.

With an internal nod of self-affirmation, Noctis reached his hand over and grabbed Prompto's. Whatever the people in the building thought, there was nothing to be ashamed of. Though his expression was shy, he turned to look at Prompto, worrying his lip between his top and bottom teeth and silently questioning if it was okay.

Prompto just smiled and laced their fingers together even tighter. "Holding hands in public. Scandalous," he teased lovingly, but even as the words came out, he squeezed Noctis' hand even tighter, silently daring him to let go.

Noctis didn't want to anyway. Into the building they went, with their hands twined tightly. No one really made a stink. They got a couple of odd stares, and a couple of people turned to whisper to their neighbors and pointed, but Noctis steeled himself and didn't let it sway him. If Gladio and Ignis could be brave, if Iris and Aranea could be brave, then so could he. Prompto didn't even pay them any mind, and Noctis found himself admiring his boyfriend with a silent smile.

"I'm Prompto Argentum, this is Noctis Lucis Caelum," Prompto told the receptionist after she asked them what they were there for. "We have an appointment."

The woman, one of the ones unfazed by their hand-holding, nodded and smiled. "Mr. Argentum! I'm Calleigh. We spoke over the phone. I've been looking forward to seeing you two. Nice to meet you, Mr. Caelum," she said as she turned to Noctis. "We have a pretty wide selection for you two. There's been an excess of strays this year, so..." The woman continued talking, but Noctis was only paying half attention.

Until they got to a small room in the corner, anyway. Through the window, Noctis could see about fifteen cats and kittens walking around. Some played, some ate, some slept, some sat and looked out the window at them, and the smile on Noctis' face grew even wider. The woman warned them, before they walked through the door, to ensure that none of the critters escaped the room, and then let them inside. She introduced them to each of the cats; some had odd names and some had typical cat names like Pepper and Fluffy and whatever else. She suggested that they introduce themselves, and then turned to leave the room, leaving Noctis and Prompto alone.

Prompto stood in the corner next to one of the kittens—a young one, who was named Dipper or something stupid like that—and laughed as it climbed on him to bat at the strings to his hoodie. "So, how heaven is this?" he asked, raising his head from the kitten to look at Noctis.

Noctis had a kitten (who was named Tiger, as cliché as it was) standing on his shoulder, knocking her head against his face. Eventually, she gave up, though, and climbed down his torso to try and climb into the pocket of his hoodie. He'd smiled since Ignis and Gladio had gone to the hospital, sure. Prompto had always been able to make him laugh or find his happiness beneath whatever else was going on. But not quite like this. He turned to glance at his boyfriend, opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Tiger, who had climbed back up to his shoulder and persisted in ramming her head into his cheek. He laughed aloud. "You're pretty assertive, aren't you?" he asked her.

Dipper, who was more a small orange ball of fluff than a cat, had settled into Prompto's lap and fallen asleep, her chest rising and falling with her breath and purrs. Noctis grinned at the sight. "This is just about as close to heaven as I can get without being in actual heaven," he mused, walking over to sit down next to Prompto.

As soon as he sat down, Tiger hopped down from his shoulder and into his lap, then wandered over to sit with Dipper in Prompto's lap. Noctis' grin grew even more. "Think they like you, Blondie..." he mused to Prompto, flicking his eyes up to look at his boyfriend, who was scratching Tiger under the chin.

Tiger responded by curling up next to Dipper and going to sleep. Every other kitten in the room was going about their business, but these two kittens seemed unfazed by these two random humans in their space. But Dipper and Tiger—gods they needed better names—were perfectly content to sleep on Prompto.

"I kind of want to take them both home, but I only prepaid for one," Prompto mused, watching as Dipper raised his paw and Tiger nuzzled underneath and laughing an affectionate laugh.

Noctis had been thinking much the same thing, honestly. "I don't think we can leave with just one, though," he pointed out. "I don't mind paying the adoption fee for another. Especially if when we get them back home, they both curl up on your lap like this." He leaned down and scratched at Tiger's stomach with a finger, watching as she unceremoniously rolled onto her back in Prompto's lap.

Prompto laughed a single note. "This was supposed to be your Christmas present, Hero," he pointed out. "Not much of a present if you end up paying for half of it."

Shaking his head no, he nudged Prompto with his shoulder. "You prepaid for one. But sometimes things happen that you can't control, right? Like finding two kittens when you're only planning on finding one." He laughed softly. "Besides, think of how heartbroken you'd be if we had to pick between one of these two. You don't want to, do you?" he asked.

When Prompto glanced down into his lap at the two kittens, he laughed softly and shook his head no. "I don't," he admitted.

"Well, we don't have to. This one can be mine," Noctis suggested, pointing at Tiger, "and this one can be ours." That part made him grin a bashful grin. Because they really were still a new couple. Buying a pet together was something a couple that had been together as long as Ignis and Gladio did. The thought of his friends and their situation made Noctis' expression draw down into a frown, but he shook it off and glanced back up at Prompto.

Prompto looked at Noctis, eyes smiling softly. "Ours, huh?" he asked.

"I mean, if you're okay with-"

Cutting him off, Prompto pressed a finger to his lips and nodded. "I'm more than okay with that, Hero. I mean, I... I'm okay with pretty much everything you're okay with. Like... I love you, okay? I just... I don't want to rush you."

Rush him. Noctis was quiet for a moment, pondering that, and he raised his eyes to look at Prompto. "Move in with me." Once again, it was supposed to be a question. But it didn't come out like one. Just like when he'd asked Prompto to be his boyfriend. "I mean... if you want to. You already more or less live with us. We've gone back to your place to get more and more of your things and you're healed now, and it's about time we were talking about you going back, but I don't want you to go back. I don't..." His cheeks were heating up steadily as he spoke. "I don't want you to go back," he repeated.

The chuckle Prompto gave in response was fond. Not humorous, just... affectionate and happy and like somehow, even through all his awkward fumbling, Noctis had managed to ask a question—or make a demand, as it were—that had made his whole day. "I was hoping you would ask," he admitted, peering at Noctis through his eyelashes.

"Does that mean..." It wasn't a question, it was the beginning of one. But the way he trailed off was just as good as asking. At least, he hoped so.

Prompto nodded his answer, too. "Yeah, it does." He brushed his hand over Noctis' cheek. "I'd rather be with my family anyway, so..." He smiled bashfully, leaning forward and capturing Noctis' lips in a brief but tender kiss. The kittens never rustled from their sleep in his lap.

Soft kisses like that always seemed to make Noctis' heart stutter in his chest. He leaned his forehead against Prompto's meeting his eyes and brushed his thumb along Prompto's lower lip. The marred flesh from the fight had long since healed, and left nothing but a tiny, one-inch-long scar on the flesh below his lips and above his chin. Maybe it was that fight. Maybe that was what made Noctis never want Prompto away from him. Or maybe it was just love. That was enough answer for Noctis, honestly. The only answer that really mattered. He glanced down at the kittens, then back up to Prompto.

"I hate to move them," he confessed, "but if we want to get them home, we have to."

Prompto nodded and half-smiled. "Home," he murmured. "I always felt more home there than I did at my own apartment." He chuckled, embarrassed.

Wetting his lips and reaching down to his boyfriend's lap, he picked up one of the kittens. Tiger let out a little mewl of protest, before trying to reach back down and latch onto Prompto's jeans again and find her way back to her warm spot. When Noctis held her against his shoulder, she burrowed against him, then climbed into his hood. "We're gonna need to rename them, too," he mused, removing the kitten from his hood and setting her down on the bench where he'd been sitting. "Tiger and Dipper are stupid names."

Laughing his agreement, Prompto placed Dipper next to Tiger, and the pair looked up at their future owners in surprise. His hand back in Prompto's again, they made their way out to the front desk, where they gave the name of the kittens they wanted to adopt. Paperwork came next, with Noctis letting Prompto fill out the paperwork for the kitten they were sharing, just so that it was certain that they were sharing him. And then, with the fee paid, they left the building with two new kittens in tow.

"What about Zest?" Prompto asked as he closed the door of the car. The two kittens mewled in surprise, likely at the fact that they were in a small box and outside of the room they'd spent the last however long in. "For the orange one, I mean. His fur looks like the orange zest on that cake Ignis always likes to make, so..." After a pause—and a shared frown with Noctis, likely related to the worry that Ignis wouldn't be able to make that cake anymore—he laughed an awkward laugh and shrugged his shoulders.

Zest. Noctis pondered it for a moment and nodded his head. "I like it." After a pause, he continued. "When I was a kid, I always said that I'd name my first cat Laser."

Prompto grinned. "Laser?" he asked, amusement lining his eyes.

"Yeah! You know how in sci-fi movies, they always have those laser guns? Cats are hyper, so..." Noctis started the car and shrugged. "Too stupid?"

With a shake of his head, Prompto peeked into the box at the kittens. "It's perfect, Hero. Laser and Zest." He nodded his head.

Noctis, too, was about to comment on the perfection of the cats' names, when a sound that he hadn't heard in almost two months filled the car. His dad's ringtone. Blinking a couple of times, he slid his phone from his pocket and stared blankly at the screen. He swallowed thickly and turned his head to look at Prompto, showing him the name on the screen. Prompto's expression changed immediately to concern, and he turned his eyes back to Noctis in a silent question. _Are you going to answer?_ was written plainly on his face.

But Noctis had no choice. He didn't move the car yet, but answered the phone and said, "hey dad. I'm in the car right now. Can I call you b-"

"Pull over, then," Regis commanded, his voice far sterner than Noctis ever recalled hearing it before. "I have a few questions for you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to check out [nicoleiacross](http://archiveofourown.org/users/nicoleiacross/pseuds/nicoleiacross)' sister series, [To Close The Year](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9338759/chapters/21160544)! She's added another chapter to it, and has more planned!
> 
> Also: diabetes warning.


	20. Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _i have made every single mistake  
>  that you could ever possibly make.  
> i took and i took and i took what you gave,  
> but you never noticed that i was in pain..._  
> [alive](https://open.spotify.com/track/4E3afPSY5fUEelQS9ppL0e) \- sia

"I don't even know where to _begin_ , Noctis."

It was a good thing that Noctis had stepped out of the car. His father's voice was loud, and it would have echoed through the quiet car like a gunshot. As it stood, it made Noctis cringe as it played right into his ear. And what was worse was the fact that he _knew_ that he'd screwed up when he'd punched Ardyn, but no matter what his father wanted to hear, he'd never be able to say that he was sorry or that he regretted it. He'd do it again a thousand times over if he had to. For now, though, he sat on the hood of the car, staring down at the snow on the ground in front of him and listening to his dad as he went off.

And go off he definitely did. "First, Dean Izunia calls me to tell me that you _punched_ him. Then I discover that you got a B+ on your marketing final. So much for that 4.0 GPA, right?" He paused for a breath. "And _then_ I find out that all of a sudden you think you're _queer_." The way he spat the word 'queer' made Noctis' stomach drop, and made him think of Ardyn's words. _A colossal mistake_ , he'd said. Apparently a mistake so colossal that Ardyn had seen fit to reveal every single thing he'd learned over the course of the year.

"Dad, I-"

Regis cut him off with a loud throat clear. "If you think you're going to explain your way out of this one, you are _sorely_ mistaken, Noctis. I'm paying for you to get an _education_. Not hit educators. Or get B's. Or 'experiment.'" In any other situation, it would have been humorous that the 'experimentation' was the thing to earn the most ire from his father.

But this wasn't humorous. Normally, his father's ire was enough to make him balk. Normally, all it took to make him hide was a little bit of a raised voice. Noctis wasn't sure what it was. Maybe it was the fact that he'd never been as happy with who he was as he was now, when he was with Prompto. Or maybe it was the fact that Ignis and Gladio's situation was reminding him exactly how fleeting life could be. Maybe it was the fact that this was the first time he'd ever really felt like he had a family. Or maybe it was just because he wanted to find his own life. Whatever the reason, Noctis found himself unable to level his voice out when he spoke up next.

"I'm not _experimenting_ , dad. I'm in love, okay? For the first time in my life. Say what you want about my grades, and yeah, I made a mistake when I hit Dean Izunia." That much was obvious by the fact that he was even having this conversation right now. "But there was a reason for that, too."

Regis laughed a hollow note. " _Enough_ , Noctis!" he shouted, then went quiet for a couple of seconds. "Enough. No reason is good enough to hit an educator. I don't care what it was." His tone was quieter this time.

Noctis wasn't done yet, though. Because the reason _was_ good enough, and if he could only get his dad to _see_ that, maybe this whole conversation could have turned around. "Don't you even care about Ignis and Gladio? They're in the hospital, you know? Someone had to have told Clarus about it, dad. Why hasn't he come to see Gladio yet? Or Iris? She's beside herself with worry and-"

"This isn't about Ignis or Gladiolus, Noctis. This is about _you_ and how you've _hit_ an _educator_. You're fortunate that I was able to convince him not to press charges. He could have had you thrown out of school. Do you know what that would have done to your reputation?" Regis lectured. And he continued to lecture about his standing in social circles. Noctis tuned most of it out, staring up at the blue sky and the clouds as they sailed past. 

Of course his dad didn't care about Ignis or Gladio. They were important when Noctis needed roommates that his dad liked and trusted, but when they needed help, it wasn't important. Anger bubbled up again, and in an attempt to quell it, he peered over his shoulder at Prompto, who was feeding the kittens bits of food from the small bag that the receptionist had given them.

Prompto glanced back his way with worry lining his eyes, and Noctis tried to give him a look that said without saying that there was nothing his father could do to shake what they had.

It wasn't util his dad said, "and I can only imagine what this _phase_ you're going through will do," that he started paying attention again. "You know, I was in talks with the Nox Fleurets of Tenebrae to seal a huge business deal? Lunafreya isn't married and-"

"I'm not marrying Luna." It wasn't up for debate, and Noctis' tone didn't leave that to question. "Luna isn't married but she's happy with Nyx and she deserves to be. And I'm not going to let you tell me that I'm in a 'phase,' when I'm actually happy. I'm _happy_ , dad. For the first time in my life. And I know that you're mad at me for a hundred other reasons, but I just want to _be_ happy. I-" The words were pointless, though. If Regis thought it was a phase, then nothing Noctis said would convince him otherwise.

Regis huffed a humorless laugh. "I don't know where this _attitude_ is coming from, Noctis, but I don't like it."

It felt almost like his dad wasn't even listening to him. "Dad. Please listen to me. Just this once," he begged. " _Please_. I feel... I feel good where I'm at right now. I feel happy. I mean, I'm worried about Ignis and Gladio, but other than that, I'm in a relationship with someone who I love and who loves me, and I have friends who care about me too. Please don't lecture me on how this will affect my standing in your world. Because..." He stopped abruptly. He was so close to just bursting at the seams and saying it. So, _so_ close to telling his dad that he didn't want the life that had been laid out for him.

"Because?" Regis urged, his voice a dangerous rumble.

Noctis pulled in a sharp breath of cold winter air, hoping that it would embolden him. But all it really did was make his lungs cold. "Because. Because... it's _your_ world. It's not _my_ world. Dad, I don't..." He paused, trying to steel his nerves. And in his pause, he thought back to the night several months ago when Prompto had promised to help him find himself. He'd delivered. And it was about time he told his dad that. "I don't want to be a part of that world." On that sentence, his voice was certain. "I'm not... I'm not you, dad. I never will be. I hope that you can understand, and still..." Still love him. He didn't say that; didn't dare. It was something they didn't usually say, anyway.

There was a long silence on the other line. "You'd throw away everything we've worked for?" Regis asked.

"No. _We_ haven't worked for anything, dad. You. You've done it all. You chose _everything_ for me. What school I'd go to and what classes I'd take. I signed up for _one_ class for me this year. _One_. And you took it away." Noctis swallowed nervously, but didn't stop talking. "I let you push me so far back into a corner that... that I never learned who I _was_. But I know who I am now. And it's not... it's not this. It's not _you_. Please. Please understand." His voice was shaky, and the only thing keeping him from crying was a combination of not wanting to do it in public and not wanting to worry Prompto.

Regis was silent.

Noctis was, too, for a moment, but then he continued. "I love music, dad. It makes me happy. I know you want me to take over when you retire, but there are... there are so many people who work with you who are more qualified and _want_ it. I don't. I want to... I want to find more of me."

For a few seconds, Regis was still silent. Then he said, "I don't know who raised you to be so ungrateful, but it absolutely wasn't me." A heavy, deep sigh that was puffed out in a single, quick breath, and movement that Noctis could tell was him shuffling papers around on his desk.

Somehow, in a stark contrast to the usual regret and sadness that would usually have leaped up, Noctis was alarmed when instead, he felt a flash of _anger_. He'd opened his guts up. Finally told his dad everything about how he felt and how miserable he was in a life that had been planned out _for_ him. And the only response his dad could give was to call him ungrateful. Noctis shook his head no. His dad couldn't see it, but it was more for himself, anyway. To shake himself out of the silent anger and force him to speak up.

"It _was_ you!" Noctis shouted, and he froze for a second at how his own voice rang out through the empty parking lot. Shaking it off, he calmed his tone and continued. "It was you, because you never listened to me. You took me out of music lessons when I was fifteen and you've never let me try anything for _myself_. So, naturally, when I see the world for more than just studying, I'm going to see that there are people out there who _enjoy_ life and get to do things that they like to do sometimes. Dad, I... I just want to be happy like I am right now, all the time. Please... please."

To be honest, he wasn't sure what he was begging for. Understanding? Acceptance? Maybe a little bit of both. But even as he questioned, he knew that his dad would never be okay with any of this.

And as though he was just out to prove Noctis right today, Regis made a disapproving grunt from his throat. "I'm done with this conversation," Regis insisted. "If you think I'm paying for your lifestyle so that you can hit educators, goof off, and get bad grades, perhaps it's time for you to re-evaluate your priorities, Noctis. Next time I call you, you had best have a better attitude."

Before Noctis could respond, or plead with his father to listen once more, the other end of the line went completely silent. Noctis pulled the phone back from his ear and frowned. His father had hung up. Noctis blinked at his screen long after the 'call ended' screen faded into blackness, and for an all-too-brief second, he pondered calling his dad back and begging him to listen again. But after a couple of beats, he shook his head no. Raising his eyes to the sky, he swallowed thickly and sucked in a deep, slow breath of chill winter air. No tears. Not right now. He didn't want to do it in public.

Letting the breath out as slowly as he pulled it in and swallowing back another wave of emotion, Noctis turned around and put his hand on the door handle to the car. Prompto had the kittens out of the box and sleeping in his lap now, but he looked at Noctis in concern as he sat down and closed the door. "You okay, Hero?"

"No," was Noctis' simple answer. But he turned to look at Prompto with a weak smile all the same. "But I do owe you a thank you."

Prompto blinked a couple of times. "Me? What'd I do?" he asked in surprise.

Noctis put the car in reverse and pulled out of the parking lot. "Everything," he started. "Showed me who I am. Gave me the courage to stand _up_ for who I am. Made me believe that, maybe, who I am is okay." He swallowed nervously, trying to keep emotion back and focus on driving again.

Blinking, Prompto reached a hand over and placed it on Noctis' shoulder. "What happened, Hero?" he asked.

As he drove, Noctis told Prompto everything that his dad had said and everything that _he_ had said. Of how he'd all but told his dad that he didn't want to take over for him. About how he'd stood up for them—for him and Prompto—when his dad had tried to pass it off as a phase. About how his dad was more concerned with his status and reputation than with what made him happy. By the end of the story, his eyes were watering again, and he'd had to pull over to the side of the road rather than risk crashing the car with them inside.

Prompto's hand was on his shoulder, squeezing and rubbing with his thumb, and his other hand reached up to brush some tears from Noctis' cheek. "Wow," was all he said at first. "What did he say to all that?"

With a bitter laugh, Noctis shrugged one shoulder. "That he wasn't paying for my lifestyle so that I can hit educators and get bad grades. I think... no. I know... he's passing this—us—off as a phase." That made Noctis scowl. No matter how many times he'd said that it _wasn't_ a phase, Regis wouldn't listen. He didn't expect any less, honestly.

"It's... it's not, right?" Prompto asked, very clear uncertainty rising in his voice. "Because I-"

Noctis didn't even let him finish that sentence. "It's not," he promised. Turning his body toward Prompto as they sat on the side of the road, he shrugged. "I wouldn't have asked you to move in if it was a phase, right? We got these two and you're moving in with us, so... so please don't think that it's a phase. He doesn't... he doesn't know me." That was abundantly clear.

Prompto smiled again, a tiny bit of embarrassment edging into his features. "I just... wasn't sure if..."

"Well, you should be." Noctis managed a weak smile as he said that. "I mean, you're stuck with me unless you don't want to be anymore, at this rate."

That brought the edges of Prompto's lips up a little bit higher. "So, what are you going to do about the apartment?" he asked. "I mean... if your dad decides that he doesn't want to pay for it anymore, then..." He trailed off, glancing down at the kittens and then back up at Noctis.

Then not only would Noctis be out on the street but the others, too. Noctis knew that was where he was going, but, "it's not immediately that bad," he promised. "It's... I've got some money saved, from birthdays and Christmases and summers working at his company. I think I've got about fifty grand saved in a bank account that's just mine. So, it won't be an immediate emergency, and I can get a job and start paying for things myself." He wet his lips. He knew that it was expensive, but he could do it. He _would_ do it.

"I can help, too," Prompto promised. "I don't make a lot, but I can pay a couple of bills to help take some of the strain off of you."

Noctis wanted to object, but the way Prompto was looking at him made him nod slowly to agree. "Alright..." he murmured, still obviously unhappy with the whole situation. But there wasn't too much choice, and he didn't want Prompto to think that the offer was anything less than appreciated.

Squeezing Noctis' shoulder again, Prompto flashed him an uncertain smile. "Think of it this way," he started. "If you do get your own job and make your own money, he really can't tell you what to do anymore. You can make your own decisions and do your own thing, and there's nothing he can do about it because _you're_ in charge of paying for things and everything else in your own life. Can you imagine it? Next year, you can sign up for whatever classes you want and he can't stop you. You wanna take that music class that he changed on you, then you can take it. You wanna play your guitar instead of spending all night studying? You can do it."

The thought was appealing in a way Noctis was almost embarrassed to admit, but he just nodded his head and chuckled softly, wiping his eyes and taking the car out of park again. "That does sound pretty awesome," he admitted.

Prompto nodded. "And I'm sure Iris and Aranea wouldn't mind helping you pay the bills, either." He paused and glanced at the dashboard. "Or Ignis and Gladio when they're all healed up. I'm just saying, there's no reason for you to be stuck under your dad's thumb, in the life he wants for you, anymore. Maybe if you show him what you can do on your own, he'll be likelier to respect it. And understand it," he offered, turning his attention to the kittens and scratching one on the ear.

It was an interesting thought, showing his dad that he could survive on his own by _actually_ proving it. "Maybe," he agreed. "Maybe even if he doesn't... you know... cut me off? I should get a job anyway. Because you're right. Then he won't be able to hold me down anymore."

"I'll help you," Prompto offered. "We can look together."

Help him. Prompto always, _always_ offered to help him. No matter what he was doing, Prompto was always right there with him. Even despite the dismal conversation with his dad, he couldn't help but let a tiny smile cross his face. Obviously, the situation was less than ideal. Obviously, he'd have preferred not to have to worry about his dad deciding to take everything away and having everyone thrown out onto the street. At the same time, though... at the same time, it was hard not to be a little bit proud of himself. Twenty years. For twenty years, Noctis had let his father tell him who he was and who he was supposed to be. Even if it was hard, even if it was _impossible_ , he'd choose impossible and making his own choices over easy and having them made for him.

He turned to look at Prompto nervously, raking his teeth over his lip. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Blondie," he admitted.

Prompto grinned. "You never will."


	21. There is An Answer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _there is a ripple to every wave,  
>  a rhythm to the days and nights.  
> and all our thoughts, they make the world go round._  
> [there is an answer](https://open.spotify.com/track/5MdgpYBBvqHK8Dh6zVKXzb) \- a great big world

Every single book that Ignis had collected was stacked up on the dining room table. Noctis was sure that Ardyn had realized by now that the books weren't back, and was ready to act as soon as the four housemates let their guard down. But that was why Noctis refused to _let_ his guard down. The doors were always locked, the shades were always drawn, and no one left the house alone.

Right now, research was a little different. Laser stood on top of a pile of books, pawing at Zest, who stood at the bottom and braced herself against the books to paw back. They'd exhausted every single book that Ignis had taken out, finally, so now Aranea and Iris sat on the couch, going over a portfolio of files they'd printed from campus. Prompto helped Noctis look over the classifieds, trying to find a job. So far, Regis hadn't made good on his threat to remove Noctis' way of life, but Noctis had meant what he'd said in the car—finding his own way was important.

So far, all of the jobs he'd looked for needed experience, though. Experience that he didn't have. Prep cook was out; Noctis burned water if he was left alone with the stove. He'd called a couple of places for some front desk work, but they'd been very adamant on the fact that he have pre-training in data entry. That one had made him mad. He could type. He was a _fast_ typist, even. But that didn't matter.

Most of the food service industry jobs were already taken, too. Being a college town, once a student got a job, they tended to keep it. Noctis was frustrated, endlessly, and concerned that he wouldn't be able to do this after all. Laser walked across the table and made a concentrated effort to jump into Iris' lap, but fell short, landing on all four paws on the floor, with an agitated mew. That caught Noctis' attention, dragging it from his laptop screen, and he laughed softly as the kitten climbed up the arm of the recliner and finally reached her goal of lying in Iris' lap on top of her stack of papers.

"Think he's trying to tell us we're working too hard?" Iris asked, scratching the kitten with one finger, and turning to look at Aranea, who was pinching the bridge of her nose.

Prompto glanced up from where he sat on the floor, only to see Zest pawing at the bottom of his shoe. "Probably. They tend to do this whenever we don't pay attention to them, though," he mused with a little chuckle. He picked the orange kitten up with one hand and put her in his lap, scratching her head as he turned back to scrolling through the classifieds on his tablet.

Aranea huffed a sigh. "Words are starting to blend together," she admitted. "I just read August as October."

Turning his eyes up to look at her, Noctis chuckled. "Why don't you guys take a break? You've been at that part longer than we have. We gonna do take out again tonight or-"

"No," Iris answered. "I'm gonna cook. Iggy, um... Iggy gave me a couple recipes so that... so that we weren't always ordering out, you know?" She chuckled humorlessly. The apartment wasn't empty by a long shot, but without Ignis and Gladio it felt like it. Aranea and Prompto took turns tending Gladio's garden for him, Iris cooked meals, Noctis had actually stepped up to the plate and done some of the house cleaning... but it wasn't the same. It wasn't the same as having their whole family together.

Noctis nodded at Iris, watching as she stood up, set Laser on the couch—which didn't last, as he immediately proceeded to climb up onto Aranea's shoulder—and then turned back to his laptop. He sighed heavily and clicked back to Ardyn's page on the school website. He was sure that Ignis and Gladio had read it over at least once. There was a long and detailed—almost _too_ detailed—story of a young man who grew up in Lestallum with little but the clothes on his back and grew into a passion for education. The story spoke of his time in the Lestallum Tech in equally excruciating detail. Everything just struck Noctis as too detailed. Too crafted.

Still, nothing there was what they needed. Nothing on the page was enough to incriminate him.

How Ignis and Gladio had done this and not thrown themselves out a window was a mystery to Noctis. He puffed out a breath and set his laptop on the table, catching sight of Prompto glancing up at him out of the corner of his eye. "I'm good, Blondie," he insisted, flashing a weak smile and grabbing an as yet untouched file.

"You're not," Prompto insisted with a similar return smile, "but it's okay, because none of us are. We'll find something, though. I mean, all the stuff they found and they only really managed to scratch the surface of it, right? Just don't work yourself too hard, Hero." He set the tablet on the coffee table and turned around so that he was sitting on his knees, resting his elbows on top of on Noctis' knees.

Even if they weren't close, though, Noctis wasn't going to give up. Looking at Prompto right then, he was reminded of exactly why he was so determined to get to the bottom of this. The worry in his boyfriend's eyes was bright and obvious. Noctis knew that Prompto didn't want him to work too hard. But between what Ignis and Gladio were currently going through and what Prompto _had_ gone through... there was no way that Noctis could just sit there and let it be. Maybe it was risky; maybe it wasn't smart to just keep the information that Gladio and Ignis had taken out and look through it themselves, but it was all they had.

Noctis reached down and smoothed a bit of Prompto's hair from his eyes. "I'm not giving up. And I promise, I'm not working too hard," he added with a little grin. "It's really no different from studying for finals or all that time I've spent doing my class work." Classwork which he still had to do. The thought of his econ paper, sitting on his desk in his bedroom and silently pleading for him to work on it, made him frown.

As much as Noctis wished that fighting with his dad got him out of having to do schoolwork for the rest of the year, it didn't. He was in his classes for the long haul now. At least until the end of the term. He had to finish them and he had to _not_ fail them if he had any chance of keeping his GPA high. Right now, though, he didn't want to think of that. Right now... he needed to look through _these_ papers.

His eyes fell to the folder in his hands and heaved a heavy sigh. "I just need to..." He glanced back up at Prompto again, hoping that he'd understand.

Prompto nodded his understanding. Of course he understood. He always understood. "I know," he answered, smiling softly and grabbing his tablet from the table again. 

When this was over, Noctis decided that he needed to do something special for Prompto. Prompto, who had been there for him through all of it; who was always at his side and encouraging him to do everything to the fullest. Maybe a vacation. Maybe a real vacation to somewhere nice, like Gauldin or one of the cabins in Cape Caem that he'd heard so much about from Ignis. Noctis glanced at where Prompto sat between his calves and squeezed his sides loosely, a gentle tactile sign of affection. Prompto tilted his head back and looked at Noctis upside down, smiling softly.

Only when Prompto straightened up and went back to looking at classifieds again did Noctis open the folder in his hands. A list of names, of people in the age range that Ardyn gave in his story on the school website. People who went to school in the same time ten-year period that he said he did. Noctis wasn't sure where Ignis got half of this information, but the thought that merely printing it out on the school's computers and taking out the 'wrong books' was enough to make Ardyn do what he'd done was horrifying to him. The _first thing_ the man thought to do was to attack. Not confront them, not _talk_ like people did... but to attack. That on its own was enough to rouse suspicion. There was something in here that he'd been so adamant not to let them find. Something that caused him to react.

That thought made Noctis shake his head hard and start looking through the names. There were _so many_ names. So many pages. So many different people with so many different alma maters.

He flipped through the pages, looking over last names until he fell upon the 'I' page. Idyll, Ivershire... Noctis paused and his eyes shot open. "Izunia!" he announced to the room. "Izunia, Ardyn!" Prompto turned beneath him. "Blah, blah, blah, class of 735. University of Gralea?" Noctis glanced at the table. Was that what it had said on the Dean's Profile? Noctis had read it over and over, and he was fairly certain that it had been another school, but he couldn't remember what one it was exactly. "Prompto. Prompto, what does it say on his profile page? That he graduated from?"

All eyes in the apartment were on Noctis now—even the kittens had been roused from play by his sudden exclamation—but Prompto turned toward Noctis' laptop. "Ardyn Izunia has always had a passion for helping people, blah blah blah," he muttered as he read. "In 735, he enrolled in... Lestallum Tech?" He paused, tilting his head to the side. "And graduated in 739. Lestallum Tech..." He paused, getting to his feet and looking at the paper over Noctis' shoulder.

"But that says... University of Gralea?" Iris murmured a question as she walked into the living room, stirring a bowl full of something that Noctis couldn't see. It smelled good, though. "In Niflheim?"

Prompto nodded his head. "It was on the other side of Niflheim. The one the guys who ran the factories lived on. There was this massive wall built between the side of town we lived on and the side of town they lived on. And if any of us got anywhere near it..." He pressed his lips together and looked down at the table in front of him. "No one got near it," he finished with instead.

The reminder of Prompto's situation made Noctis force himself to physically shake off a wave of anger, which was made significantly easier by the fact that, across the room, Aranea spoke up. "Wait. Wait, if this document is to be believed, Dingus McFuckwit went to the University of Gralea?" she asked.

Noctis nodded and leaned forward, handing the folder over to Aranea, who started looking it over.

Aranea blinked at the name. "The University of Gralea. He graduated from the opposite side of town from where Skinny was put through hell as a kid." She glanced at Prompto. "And somehow he had that file, right? And kept trying to pass it off to Pretty Boy, explaining that you had some skeletons in your closet. So, he _knew_ about you. Knew where you came from and your story."

Halfway through her explanation, Noctis caught on. "You don't think..." he murmured.

Iris looked at Prompto, blinking in amazement. "Prompto, you don't recognize him at all, do you? Like, anything about him or..." She walked back to the kitchen, pouring the meal she was making into a pan and putting it into the oven. "Anyone like him, even."

After a few seconds of silence, Prompto shook his head no. "No. I don't remember many people from back then. I was four, you know? I barely remember myself back then. Barely remember my mom," he explained, glancing down to look at the scarred burn mark on his wrist. "I mean, I wondered how he knew about me. When he came into my hospital room that night, he said something like 'there are people out there who still know' or something cryptic and weird like that. But I was so stunned by everything that had happened that I never pieced two and two together." He stared down at his hands.

"But it makes too much sense to ignore, doesn't it?" Noctis asked. "He knew about Prompto's past. University of Gralea. 735."

Prompto pointed out, "I was born in 736, and started work in 740." 

"Which would mean that he could have possibly been working at one of those factories when you were a kid," Aranea continued, raising her eyes to look at Prompto. "Skinny. Do you still have that folder?"

Nodding, Prompto pulled himself to his feet. "Yeah, hang on. It's in our room." He hurried down the hall, nearly tripping over the cat water dispenser as he jogged, but managing to keep himself on his feet.

Noctis' mind was spinning, though. He knew that it was suspect, that Ardyn knew about Prompto's past and was so determined to throw him under the bus. And plus, "it makes sense, too, with how he's had this weird vendetta against me. My dad... he had a lot to do with the Niflheim reform." His expression went somber talking about his dad, but if Prompto was so willingly exposing his own past to get to the bottom of this situation, then Noctis could face his own demons, too.

Aranea interjected. "He _was_ the Niflheim reform, Pretty Boy," she pointed out.

To that, Noctis simply nodded. "Right. So, if somehow, my dad ended him up out of a cushy fat cat job or something, it makes sense in a weird sort of way that he'd have it out for me, doesn't it? That he'd... you know, want to make my dad—and by proxy me—regret it?" It was all a lot of speculation, and Noctis didn't have any confirmation whatsoever about any of this. But that one lead, that _one_ lead, was way more than they'd had since they started this whole search. Even Ignis hadn't been able to find anything concrete. It was almost like Ardyn had wiped all traces of himself from existence, so finding something was a huge deal.

Prompto came back down the hall with his folder open, flipping through the pages again with a somber expression on his face. Noctis frowned, feeling slightly guilty for making him go through those memories again, but before he could say anything, Prompto handed the folder to Aranea. "What were you looking for?"

When Aranea accepted it and opened it, she started skimming each page. "Any sign of Ardyn, really. Like, is there a name of who you worked for in here?" she asked.

Iris came back into the living room and sat on the couch, picking up the folder with Ardyn's name in it and reading over the information. "I don't know if he'd just hand Prompto a lead like that, though. You know? Like, it's suspicious enough that he even handed it over to begin with and it's almost like he's erased every other bit of evidence that he's ever existed from records."

Sighing, Aranea nodded. "Yeah, I don't really see any sign of an Ardyn Izunia here." She flipped the page to Prompto's file. 

"I wonder if anyone would have old Niflheim records," Iris pondered aloud as she set the first folder back down on the table. She grabbed another of their untouched folder and opened it. Noctis wasn't sure what was in it, but it must not have been anything worth noting, because Iris just idly flipped through it.

Noctis shook his head no. "No one who'd help us, I'm sure. I know my dad has some really old files locked away in a vault that only he and your dad have access to," he explained to Iris. "But after the whole debacle with him the other day, I'm pretty sure he wants nothing to do with helping us." And that he'd be livid about the fact that they were even doing this in the first place.

At that, Prompto glanced at the ground and let out a soft sigh. A weak smile crossed his face as Laser and Zest started playing with his shoelaces. Noctis had to wonder about what was going on in his mind right then. So much of his past was being put on display to all of their friends now, and it couldn't have been easy. For so long, he'd kept it close to the vest; been careful not to tell anyone and not to let anyone find out where he was from. But now, not only was everything on display to all of his friends, but _keeping_ it on display was their only hope in finding answers to whatever Ardyn was hiding. Noctis reached his hand out and placed it on Prompto's shoulder.

Prompto turned, placing a hand on top of Noctis' hand and shrugging his head to the side. The wordless communication was silent and simple, but Noctis got it loud and clear. It was difficult. Of course it was; Prompto wasn't made of stone, after all. But Prompto was okay with it, because it was helping them get answers. It would help them get justice for Ignis and Gladio. And Prompto, too, of course.

Noctis tilted his head to the side just slightly, pulling Prompto closer once he stood up. Down onto Noctis' lap his boyfriend went, and the kittens followed close behind, still batting mercilessly at Prompto's shoelaces as his feet dangled down. He pressed a lazy kiss to Prompto's shoulder, flashing a smile that he hoped showed confidence. This was good. It was a piece of information that they didn't have before. Not enough to go to any sort of authority with—it could easily be decried as fake, or something like that—but it was more than they'd been able to find so far.

The smile that Prompto showed in return was slightly more confident, and he nodded his understanding. He reached down to pick Zest and Laser up, watching as they immediately settled between their owners to make themselves comfortable. Whether or not this information amounted to anything... it was a start. It was a jumping off point. And Noctis had every single intent to use it to its fullest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Giant, monstrous thank you to [IntoThePensive](http://archiveofourown.org/users/IntoThePensive) and [nicoleiacross](http://archiveofourown.org/users/nicoleiacross/pseuds/nicoleiacross), for being my sounding boards and helping me get past the wall I'd hit with this chapter!


	22. Fear & Trembling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _in harmony, every breath.  
>  fear and trembling; the dark.  
> fear and trembling; the dark._  
> [fear & trembling](https://open.spotify.com/track/7AVK93qMxR8iNtJJTdLFS7) \- cold war kids

Prompto felt a little bit guilty for lying. Okay, _really_ guilty. But if he'd just up and said that he was going to Insomnia to talk to Noctis' dad... well, it probably wouldn't have gone well. Noctis would have tried to talk him out of it, and probably would have succeeded. Still, as he sat on the bus and stared out the window as he passed a road sign telling him that he was five miles out from Insomnia... he was definitely nervous for a multitude of reasons.

He had reasons for doing this! Really, he did! It wasn't just something he was doing just because he wanted more affection from Noctis. Sure, that was part of it. Maybe a larger part than he was willing to admit. More affection from Noctis was _always_ welcome, Prompto would be lying if he tried to deny that. There was more to it, though. A lot more, actually. Everyone had been trying so hard— _so_ hard—to get to the bottom of whatever Ardyn was doing. They'd read every single file that Ignis had brought home dozens and dozens of times, but so far, the only hint they'd found about _anything_ was the fact that Ardyn was lying about where he'd gone to school. Like Noctis had said, that was easy to dismiss as a typo or misinformation. So... it was really one step forward and two steps back.

The constant research was starting to take its toll on Noctis, Aranea, and Iris, and he knew that they really wanted to make some sort of headway before Ignis and Gladio came home next week. Their only real hope for that was to see if they could get access to whatever files Mr. Caelum was storing. And to do that, they needed to talk to Mr. Caelum. Noctis wouldn't do it, for obvious reasons. But Prompto... Prompto could. If, while he was here, he happened to manage to convince Noctis' dad to talk to him—to _listen_ to him and be more accepting of who he was?—then he'd consider that a bonus.

Plus... it was all his fault. "All of it.." he whispered to himself. Noctis never said that he thought so; Prompto was sure that he _didn't_ , because he never did, but Prompto knew. If it wasn't for his stubborn determination to hide his past, wasn't for the fact that Gladio and Ignis were digging into all of this _for him_ , it wouldn't have even been an issue. Gladio and Ignis wouldn't be in the hospital, Noctis wouldn't be estranged from his dad... no one would be suffering. And that was exactly why Prompto had to do this.

It had taken a lot of sneakiness and a lot more planning to get him this far. That part, probably, made him feel guiltier than the lying. He'd gone through some opened mail on the table to find Mr. Caelum's address. Maybe it was a little underhanded, but he had a plan. He had a _plan_ to find Mr. Caelum and talk to him, explain to him exactly what his son was facing off against this year. And that maybe he was being unreasonable in not _listening_ to his son.

Of course, thinking about his plan was one thing. But as he crossed into Insomnia and the huge city rolled past his vision, he came to the realization that _carrying out_ his plan was another matter entirely. The city was intimidating. It wasn't _scary_ or anything, but it felt cold and lonely, compared to Taelpar or anywhere else that Prompto had ever been. Lonely was an odd thing to say about a city with so many people. Dozens. There were dozens walking the streets just on the block that the bus drove around. But no one talked to each other; no one _acknowledged_ one another. It made it hard for Prompto's 'by himself but never alone' feeling to take root, honestly. Maybe that had part to do with the fact that ever since he'd met Noctis and the others, he'd never really _been_ by himself, though. He'd fallen out of the habit.

That was one habit that he was more than willing to discard and never look back at.

Being here, now, like this, explained so much about Noctis, though. How, before Prompto pretty much shouldered his way into Noctis' world, he'd been so alone. Living in a city like this, with a dad like his... Prompto wondered how he managed to keep the heart that he had, but he was endlessly grateful for that. He was sure that it had no small part to do with Ignis and Gladio's influence, and Iris' too. But the city felt cold and intimidating, and Prompto wished for a second that he'd brought at least one of his friends with him.

In his pocket, his phone rang, dragging him from his thought process. He blinked twice and reached into it, biting his lip as Noctis' picture flashed across the screen. He didn't ignore the call. He did, however, turn the volume down and lock the screen, sliding it back into his pocket with a murmur of "sorry, Hero."

Later. He'd explain later. If Noctis never wanted to talk to him again, that was fine—okay, it wasn't fine. It wasn't fine, and it would probably never _be_ fine if this blew up in his face and Noctis decided that he didn't want to talk to Prompto again—but he had to try. Because Noctis deserved better than a father who didn't care about his life and what he wanted. With that in mind, Prompto glanced down at the address on his tablet, and the directions he'd sought out. He was only a couple of blocks away, which meant that if he hurried, he could make it to the high-rise that Mr. Caelum called home before sundown.

Navigating the full-but-lifeless streets felt a bit tense to Prompto, and even though he only had three blocks to his destination, he somehow managed to get a little bit lost when he decided to take a couple of back alley roads instead of just sticking to the main ones. Every so often, he found something that caught his eye and snapped a picture. Not for Noctis; he couldn't imagine that Noctis would want any pictures of this. For him. Just to have. The pictures sidetracked him a bit too, but eventually, he got there with a little sun left in the sky. And as he stood in front of a building of cold steel and glass, Prompto swallowed a nervous lump in his throat.

He pondered turning back. But he couldn't. It was too late for that, and this was for Noctis. And for Ignis and Gladio and Iris and Aranea.

So, steeling himself, he glanced at the paper, at the apartment number that Regis supposedly lived in and walked into the building. The top floor. The top floor of this building that was easily twenty stories high. Which meant that Prompto still had a long elevator ride ahead to spend convincing himself that he was doing the right thing.

The same worries that he'd been wrestling with since leaving popped back into his mind as soon as the elevator doors closed. What if this was all for nothing? What if there was no way to convince Mr. Caelum that he was being horrible to his son? And what if he got back home and told Noctis about his fruitless attempt to fix what he'd broken, and Noctis never forgave him for it? Then he'd have destroyed the best thing to ever come into his life, all on a whim and a risk that had ended up to be not worth taking. All of the reasons that this was a horrible mistake played on repeat in his mind as the elevator ascended the twenty-one floors to the top of the building.

Above all of that, though, was the knowledge that if there was even a chance that Noctis and his dad could reconcile and be happy, and Prompto didn't try? Then it would eat him up. He had to try. _Had_ to. Steeling himself for a final time, he glanced at the display that told him what floor he was on. Eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one...

The doors opened, and he was in a long, gray hallway that led to a window. About ten feet away was a door with a decorative nameplate on it. 'Regis L. Caelum,' it read in flashy gold letters. If there was any doubt that Prompto was in the right place, that would have completely sent it crashing to the ground. In the corner of the hallway, Prompto noticed a security camera scanning the hall. A business executive had to have good security, didn't they? It made perfect sense. Blinking hard and steadying his shaky hands, Prompto walked down the hall, not looking at the camera for _too_ long, and stopping in front of the door.

Before he had a chance to stop himself, he reached up and pressed the white doorbell button.

A loud ring echoed through the hall, followed by silence. Several seconds of silence, actually. Too many seconds of silence. Maybe Regis wasn't home. He was a jet-setting businessman who did work all over Eos, right? So, it wasn't completely impossible that he just... wouldn't be home. It was selfish, a little bit, that Prompto hoped that maybe he wasn't. Several more seconds passed, and Prompto dared himself to reach up and ring the bell one more time. The very second his finger left the button, he heard the scrape of a sliding lock and then the twist of a doorknob lock. And then the door opened a crack.

Regis Lucis Caelum was an imposing man, even just seeing a little bit of his face. He eyed Prompto suspiciously, like he was sizing him up, and Prompto clamped his teeth nervously into his lower lip. "May I help you?" Regis asked Prompto curtly.

Nodding once, twice, Prompto placed one hand on top of the other, clamping tightly down on it to keep them both from trembling. "Y-yes," he answered. "I'm... I'm Prompto Argentum. I'm..." He faltered for a moment. Turned out introducing himself to his boyfriend's father, when said father didn't approve, was a scary as _hell_ experience. Who knew?

"You're..." Regis prodded, still eyeing Prompto carefully.

Prompto swallowed thickly, steeling himself once more and managing to sound at least a little bit secure when he said, "I'm your son's boyfriend."

It was silent for a very long time, the only noise coming from whatever classical music was on the other side of the door and the buzzing of the security camera whirring back and forth behind him. Prompto's anxieties mounted more and more as each second ticked by without any movement from Regis. He wished that the man would do _something_. Close the door. Tell him to leave. Anything, really, would be better than standing here in scrutinizing silence, being stared down by a man who Prompto already _knew_ hated him.

The silence continued until, much to Prompto's surprise, a second voice echoed out from inside the house. "Regis, is everything alright?" the voice—very clearly male—called out.

Regis turned his head for a moment, muttered something that Prompto couldn't here, then turned back to Prompto again. Without a word, he closed the door completely, and Prompto heard the slide of a chain lock before it opened once again, completely this time. Behind Regis stood a man with an oddly familiar face. Eyes and a facial structure that Prompto thought that maybe he'd seen before. But before he could try to identify the man, Regis spoke again.

"Come in, Mr. Argentum," he spoke, and Prompto wasn't sure if it was a request or a command. But what he _was_ sure of was the fact that it wasn't the response he anticipated.

He did it all the same. He stepped into the apartment, wincing when the door swung closed behind him. "C-call me Prompto," he told Regis, sounding a little bit jumpier than he wanted to at the sound of the door clicking shut.

Stepping around Prompto, Regis nodded. He didn't look nearly as taciturn or as angry as Prompto expected him to. In fact, there was even the tiniest ghost of a smile on his face. It was confusing, and a little concerning. "Very well, Prompto," he answered, before turning to the other man in the room. "This is Clarus Amicitia. I'm sure you know his children."

Iris and Gladio's dad. Prompto didn't need to hear that explained. He nodded. "H-hi, Mr. Amicitia," he nodded his head in a nervous greeting.

Clarus nodded a taciturn greeting too, looking slightly suspicious as he crossed his arms at his chest. "What brings you here, Prompto?" he asked tentatively.

Right to the point. Prompto wasn't sure what he expected, but he probably should have expected that. But which point did he start with? He was here for two reasons, of course, but which of the two was more important? "I... I, um..." He still held his hands steadily together to keep them from shaking, and he looked from the ground over to Regis. "Your son." He paused and glanced at Clarus for a second. "Yours too, but-" he turned back to Regis- "Noctis is... listen. I know you don't approve of me. I know you don't approve of the fact that your son and I... we love each other." His voice was nervous and creaky until the last part. Because he knew that much was true.

"But we do. I love Noctis, and Noctis loves me. And we... we're happy, Mr. Caelum-"

"Regis," the man interrupted. That was surprising. But it was easier than saying Mr. Caelum, and he was in Regis' house, so he didn't want to step on any toes.

Prompto was taken aback. "R-Regis," he continued. "We're happy. And I don't care if you never approve of _me_ , but you should approve of your son because he was miserable before. He was miserable and trapped and feeling lonely and... stifled by the life you chose for him." Prompto didn't want to take credit for being the one to help him find himself, especially not aloud, so he didn't. "And I wish... I wish you could approve of him. I wish you would look at the him that he's found, see how talented and kind and wonderful he is, because he _is_ wonderful, sir. And he _needs you_."

He turned to Clarus without stopping. "And your son needs you, too. He's way more stubborn than Noctis is, and... but I'm sure you know that but he needs you too. Because they almost _died_ , Mr. Amicitia. And Iris is trying so hard to hold herself and the rest of us together but I know... I _know_... that it would be so much easier if they just knew that the two of you were there for them and loved them."

Clarus sized Prompto up. "I've warned them several times that their relationship would only-"

Prompto shook his head no, interrupting a very surprised Clarus in the middle of his sentence. "It's not... it's not as simple as it sounds, Mr. Amicitia," he explained. "They... they didn't get into trouble because they're _together_. They got into trouble because of something else entirely. Because they were helping me," he insisted. "So, don't blame them for something that's my fault."

Clarus didn't seem to believe that, but Regis was examining Prompto closely. "Your fault?" he asked. There was an odd expression on his face that Prompto couldn't identify, but it didn't look as disgusted or hateful as Prompto expected it to. It was odd. "Have a seat, please," he added, motioning to a nearby chair.

Hesitantly, Prompto obeyed. "Yeah. My fault," Prompto answered the first question once he settled into the chair. "I... the Dean of Students had information of some things from my past in Niflheim. I used to-" He paused, stumbling, swallowing hard, trying to decide if he wanted to reveal everything about his past to a man who almost definitely hated him. "I was... one of the workers in one of the factories over there, Mr. Caelum. Before you... y'know... cleaned it up."

Realization seemed to dawn on Regis in that moment, and he looked at Prompto with a different expression on his face. His eyes were wide and his jaw was clenched. "I see," he murmured.

"Y-yeah," Prompto stammered. "And the Dean knew about that somehow. And the reason everything's happened with Noctis and Gladio and Iris is because I... because they're trying to help me. Help me figure out how he knew and why he's... why he's after us. We've been looking in school records and everything and when we were in the hospital after Iggy and Gladio's accident, Dean Izunia was there and... and he said pretty much that this was what happened when you weren't careful." This stammering was really, really annoying, but this was easily the most nerve-wracking situation Prompto had ever been in.

Clarus still didn't look happy, but it was a different unhappiness now. "Have you found any information?" the taciturn man asked.

Prompto shook his head no. "N-no. Well, a little bit," he answered. "Noctis found out that there's some information that he lied about on his Dean of Students page. Where he went to school and when he graduated. He found this one document that has his name and that he graduated from the University of Gralea, not Lestallum Tech like it said. But we can't, y'know, prove anything. Because we don't know if those documents we found were legitimate."

This made Regis pause, glancing down at the coffee table in the middle of the room. Clarus turned to look at him, taking a seat beside him on the couch, placing a hand on his shoulder in support, and Prompto watched his expression for any sign of change. He appeared deep in thought for a few seconds, then turned his head to look at Prompto again.

"Noctis is happy right now?" Regis asked.

Prompto shrugged his head to the side. "I... I mean, he'd be happier if we didn't have the constant worry of the Dean of Students trying to kill us at every turn," he spoke, his voice surprisingly confident and defensive then. But it was a little bit irritating that Regis seemed to have ignored everything he said about Ardyn and what he'd done to focus on what he'd said before. "But other than that... yeah."

Straightening up in his seat, Regis looked Prompto over. "I think Clarus and I should give you a ride back home," he commented. "I'd like to see my son. And we can talk more in the car."


	23. The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _and i sing songs about the friends;  
>  the way we grew up and all the loose ends we used to laugh,  
> 'cause i didn't give a damn._  
> [the past](https://open.spotify.com/track/11QDu0ThAsIFzA33gFdEpS) \- nevershoutnever

"Where is he?"

Noctis had looked back and forth between the clock and the door a dozen times. Prompto's shift ended hours ago, and every time that Noctis called him the call always went to voicemail. Not _straight_ to voicemail like his phone was off, but it went the full four rings and _then_ went to voicemail like it was just abandoned somewhere. Maybe it was a little bit dramatic, but given the year that their family had been through so far, Noctis' mind automatically assumed the worst. And the worry was making him physically ill as he paced back and forth across the floor of the apartment.

He wanted to go tear the town apart; search up and down until he figured out where Prompto was and why he hadn't come home yet. But he had no idea where to start, and he didn't want Prompto to get home while he was out and looking. While he waited, his brain cycled through the each and every one of the worst case scenarios.

Ardyn had found him. The Alliance had gotten to him again. He'd changed his mind and just decided to leave. Or something else, completely out of left field... maybe he'd fallen somewhere or something else that Noctis didn't know. Couldn't know. _Wouldn't_ know until it was too late to do anything about it. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and dialed Iris' number, but was panicked when she didn't answer. He held his phone in his hand, staring at it, panicked. What was happening? Where was everyone? Iris and Aranea should have been back by then. And no one was answering his calls.

Maybe they were all at the hospital. Maybe something had happened to Ignis or Gladio and they had all met up at the hospital or something. Noctis blinked a couple of times. That would be a reason for them not to pick up their phones, wouldn't it? He stood up, crossing the room to gather his boots from the floor and tug them on. If no one had bothered to call him yet, it had to be something pretty serious, didn't it? He grabbed his coat from the hanger next to the door and hurried outside, but before he made it even one step, he noticed a pair of shadows appearing in the garage.

"Yeah," Prompto's familiar voice echoed out through the garage. "Iris and Ignis did most of the decorating, and it looks really homey. Not even like a firehouse at all anymore."

A hum—a familiar voice that made Noctis blink in surprise when the sound of the door closing followed—echoed out after Prompto's voice. "I'm not surprised." It was either his father... or someone who sounded exactly _like_ his father. Either way, all Noctis could do was stare at the two shadows on the floor in silence.

Prompto pressed his lips together. "So, I know I told you that... that I didn't tell Noctis about this yet," he murmured. "I don't know how we're supposed to go up there. Like, do we go together? Or do I go first and you go after or..." His tone was nervous, anxious. Worried.

His father—this time there was no doubt in his mind—answered with a soft chuckle, and his shadow reached up to grasp Prompto's shoulder. "Just broach it like a normal situation, Prompto. I promise that I'm not going to upset him or say anything uncouth. We're just going to have a conversation. At first, I'm sure Noctis will be wondering why I'm here-"

Which was right, he absolutely _was_ wondering why his father was here with Prompto.

"-but once we explain the situation, everything will be fine." His shadow's hand fell from Prompto's shadow's shoulder and ticked its head toward the stairs.

Prompto's shadow started toward the stairs. "I just hope he isn't mad at m-" Before he finished the sentence, his body came into view. Bright blue eyes stared up the stairs at him, blinking in surprise. "H-hey, Hero..." he called up the stairs, starting to climb to the door and biting his lip nervously.

"Ah, Noctis. How much of that did you hear?" Regis asked as he started his own climb up the stairs.

They were completely casual, like they were old friends. Like Regis hadn't, just days ago and despite Noctis' pleas, been so willing to decry everything about their relationship as a phase. Noctis was still confused beyond all sense of reason, but he blinked twice and looked from his dad to Prompto. "Enough to confuse me and not enough to unconfuse me..." was his response as he flicked his eyes back to his father.

The laugh his father gave in response to that was one that Noctis had never heard before, and it made him raise his eyebrows even higher. The last time he'd talked to his dad, he was _so sure_ that Regis was going to take everything away from him. But now, he was casually talking with the very person that he'd been so adamantly against. It was confusing and concerning. Noctis didn't think his dad was the type of person to pretend to like someone to get in their good graces—beyond business associates, anyway—but what other reason would he have to be there?

"Hero, let... let me explain, okay?" Prompto started, as they walked into the apartment.

But Regis placed a hand on Prompto's shoulder again. "I'll explain, Prompto. It's alright." He smiled a smile that Noctis had never seen on his face before. It was gentle and soft, and there was no disappointment or sternness on his face anywhere. After a beat, he realized that he _had_. It was a long, long time ago, but Noctis _had_ seen that smile before as a child, and it was only serving to make everything all the more confusing.

When Regis turned to look back at him, his expression changed, just slightly. It was an odd change. He wasn't angry, wasn't disappointed, wasn't upset or anything like that, but in the lines of his face there was... concern. He brushed past Prompto, taking a couple of brisk steps forward. A tentative expression crossed his face, and he reached a hand out to place on Noctis' shoulder. Regis tugged gently on Noctis then, pulling him close and enveloping him in a tight hug. Maybe that should have cleared everything up. Maybe Noctis should have immediately understood everything. Maybe... maybe he should have been able to do more than just stand there like an absolute idiot when his father hugged him. But he couldn't. He was still way, way too confused. And all the hug was doing was bringing more questions than answers.

Over Regis' shoulder, Noctis saw Prompto smiling nervously. When the hug broke, Noctis looked up at his dad, whose hands were still on his shoulders with that weird concerned-but-smiling expression still on his face. "That, uh..." Noctis paused, eyebrows raised, "that doesn't answer anything, dad..."

"I know," Regis answered, a fond smile coming over his face as he brought a hand up to Noctis' cheek. "I just wanted to get that out of the way first. Let's have a seat, son."

Still completely confused, Noctis followed his dad and sat on the couch when his dad directed it. In an even bigger surprise, Regis directed for Prompto to sit next to Noctis, too. "Put me in front of a room of executives, and I can talk them around my finger, but put me in front of my own son and I have no idea where to begin." With a self-deprecating laugh, Regis stared at the coffee table.

Prompto spoke up instead. "Let me start, then," he suggested quietly, to which Regis nodded. "I, um... this is why I haven't been answering the phone, Hero. I... went to see your dad. Because I didn't feel right, being the reason you and your dad weren't talking and I know that we're in way, way over our heads trying to solve this whole Dean Izunia problem. So... so, I thought that maybe your dad could help." He looked down at his hands, raking his teeth nervously over his lip. "I know that I could've told you. Probably should've told you. But I didn't want you to talk me out of it. I told him everything. About Ardyn and about how we think he's from Niflheim. And how we think he was behind what happened to me and what happened to Ignis and Gladio."

Nodding, Regis drew Noctis' attention. "It was quite impressive, honestly. He showed up just as Clarus and I were discussing what happened. Clarus found the message about Gladiolus on his office answering machine, and he came to me. We were trying to figure out what to do, and then all of a sudden..." He pointed to Prompto. "There he is, filling in quite a few blanks."

None of it made sense to Noctis still, though. "I... but I thought after the last time we talked, you were going to-"

Regis frowned. "I know," he answered, nodding a somber nod. "I..." He paused, turning his eyes away from Noctis and glancing out the window. This was the most discomposed Noctis ever seen his father, honestly. "Noctis, I am fully aware that I spoke very unfairly that day. I am fully aware that I've been difficult on you for your whole life." He still wasn't looking at Noctis when he spoke. There was an odd sort of regret on his face. Something that Noctis hadn't seen before.

"But you..."

Shaking his head no, Regis held his hand up, finally glancing at Noctis again. "Let me finish, please." There was a slight flash of that sternness in his tone now, but it faded quickly into that same concern and regret. "I wanted you to succeed, son. I wanted you to have everything in the world at your feet. And I suppose I thought that being born of my genes, you'd consider the same things as I did to be success." With a bitter note of laughter, he turned to look at Noctis. "Prompto tells me you're quite the musician."

Noctis turned to look at Prompto, who didn't look back at him. Fear and concern lined his bright blue eyes, and while Noctis wanted to tell him that everything was okay... he was still completely and totally confused. Twenty years, his father had tried to push him down the same road as he was going down. Twenty years. And all of a sudden, one conversation with Prompto had him changing his tune? What had Prompto even _said_?

"I'm alright," Noctis confirmed, in response to his dad's comment about his skills on the guitar.

Prompto shook his head no. "He's more than alright. He learned a song to play for me for Christmas in one day." His tone wasn't as happy as it usually was.

With his eyes on Prompto again, Noctis felt his mouth quirking into the smallest of smiles. "Incentive's a funny thing," he mused.

From the chair, Regis cleared his throat. Both Noctis and Prompto looked his way, but rather than the scowl that Noctis expected him to be wearing, his face was neutral. Not smiling, not scowling... just a normal, neutral expression. "I think I knew, deep down, that you weren't happy," he admitted. "I just thought that you'd grow into happiness in time." He turned to glance at Noctis with a sad smile. "But it's clear that you didn't."

A flash of guilt crossed Noctis' face, and he looked away from his dad, down at his hands. "I... I'm-"

Regis shook his head. "That didn't come out right." It was a surprising moment of honesty and humility coming from his dad, and it took Noctis extremely off-guard. "It's clear that you found your happiness somewhere different. I was trying to ensure that you avoided the pitfalls of having to _discover_ what that was. Ensuring that you had something ready for you, so that the world... the world didn't beat you down." He turned to Prompto, then. "It's also why I was so willing to dismiss you as a phase, at first."

Blinking, Noctis asked, "what do you mean?"

"Ah, Noctis." Regis sighed a soft sigh. "You're not the only one who's fallen in love with someone the world isn't prepared for them to be with yet."

At that, both Noctis _and_ Prompto stared at Regis, wide-eyed. "What?!" The volume of Noctis' voice was surprising, even to him. "What do you mean?" The last part was tacked on a little bit quieter, but Noctis' eyes were still wide in disbelief.

Regis hummed a note of acknowledgment. "It was a long time ago," he explained. "Before I met your mother. When my father was trying to get me ready to take over the company from him. I was your age, actually." He glanced at Noctis, breathing in deeply, then letting it out slowly. "With... with a dear friend that I met in college." Another uncharacteristic stumble, and Regis folded his hands on his lap. "Named Clarus."

Noctis blinked hard. "Clarus?"

"Mr. Amicitia?" Prompto asked.

Laughing at the surprise on Noctis' face, Regis nodded his head, then glanced wistfully at his hands. "When I was in college, people were even less accepting than now. The wrong person learned of the... situation, and my father handled even the _rumor_ of it far, far worse than I did the fact of it with you." He steepled his thumbs together and glanced at Noctis, a new emotion on his face. Shame, maybe. "Clarus and I were terrified, and we agreed to stop. I didn't necessarily _want_ to, and nor did he. But for the sake of our reputations and for the sake of keeping our parents from finding out the truth... we did."

It was taking Noctis a shameful amount of time to process this information. "So, you and Clarus were... together? Did you cheat on mom?"

"No, no of course not," Regis insisted, shaking his head no. "When I said we stopped, we really did stop. It was a touch painful, and it made our friendship difficult for a very, very long time. We couldn't be around each other, until we each got married. And I did love your mother, before you ask. Very much."

Noctis blinked dumbly another couple of times, then said, "was it like... when you met mom, you got over Clarus, or...?"

But Regis shook his head no. "By the Six, no. I wish it had been that easy. Like I said, there was a long time that I couldn't even speak to Clarus, because it was too hard. But we decided that we'd rather be friends than nothing at all, so over time, we became what we were before we got together. Friends. Confidants. Eventually, Uncle Regis and Uncle Clarus when you kids came along." The smile on his face was sad, but then he looked up at Noctis. "I was... I was terrified for you when Dean Izunia told me that you had a boyfriend. I didn't want the world to do to you what it did to us..."

So much made sense, even if it didn't make it easier to hear. "And that's why Clarus never approved or supported Gladio and Ignis." Noctis' voice was soft.

Humming an agreeing note, Regis heaved a sigh. "Clarus took it harder than I did. You know how the Amicitias are. Very polarizingly tempestuous. Very all or nothing. Sometimes I wonder if he's ever let go." He looked over at Prompto, before those words could take root. "But him." He turned to Noctis. "On his own, he came to Insomnia and faced not only me but _Clarus_ , to tell us how wrong we were and how much you and the others needed us. I think, if he can face down the faces of two men who haven't exactly been the most accommodating people in the world and get them to get over themselves and come to be with their sons when they need them the most... then maybe he'll be able to help you do what we couldn't, and face down the criticisms of the world."

Noctis thought that maybe he was in some sort of shock. Was his dad saying what Noctis thought he was? Was that a blessing of some kind? Before Noctis could ask, Regis started speaking again.

"But first, we need to attend to this problem with Dean Izunia." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled his cell phone out. "I have quite a few records of old Niflheim stored away in a vault, as you know. If your suspicions are correct, it's not completely out of the realm of possibility that he was one of the factory owners that..." He turned to Prompto, frowning. "Well, one of the factory owners. I can contact Weskham Armaugh and Cor Leonis and have them look through our records personally, for any sort of pertinent information on an Ardyn Izunia. And I can also, perhaps, hire a private investigator to look at it under the boards, until we find something incriminating. All I would need would be official word from one of the people he's victimized."

Prompto blinked twice and nodded. "Yeah! Yeah, I definitely give you permission!" He was sitting up on the edge of his seat now.

To that, Regis nodded. "If you boys will excuse me, I have a couple of phone calls to make. Noctis, I assume you don't mind if I use the balcony outside of your room?" he asked.

Noctis was still stupefied by all of the information he'd received, but he nodded at his dad. "Y-yeah, sure."

Regis stood, pausing in front of Noctis and resting a hand on his shoulder. "We'll take care of this, son. I promise you." And with that, he flicked his finger across his phone a couple of times and walked down the hall.

And that left Prompto and Noctis alone. Noctis was still too stunned by everything that he'd learned to say anything at all. He stared at his hands, blinking a couple of times, and then looked over at Prompto, who was looking out the window nervously. Before he could even ask what was wrong, Prompto turned back to him with that nervous look in his eyes again.

"I know I was probably out of line, Hero. I know I should have told you where I was going before I went. But you... I really needed to do this. I needed to tell your dad what he was doing to you—what _Dean Izunia_ was doing to you—and what you'd been dealing with all year. I needed to make him realize that he was killing you, before he actually killed you. I'm sorry if I-"

Noctis didn't need to hear any more. He grabbed Prompto by the collar of his hoodie, tugging him closer gently and pressing their lips together softly. "Don't apologize," he whispered once the kiss broke. "You... I can't believe you did that for me. You faced down my dad and Clarus and... and my dad was... I can't believe you got him to tell me... all of that." He shook his head in amazement.

In a flourish, Prompto threw his arms around Noctis' shoulders and hugged him tightly. "I just... you were hurting, Hero. You were miserable and we weren't getting any answers with our research and I needed to help. And this was the only way I could. I'm sorry I didn't tell you," he muttered into Noctis' shoulder.

But Noctis had meant what he'd said. There was no reason whatsoever for Prompto to be sorry. His arms wrapped loosely around Prompto's shoulders and he breathed a soft but relieved sigh. "I'm just glad you're okay. I... thought the worst." That he was dead. That everyone was dead. Clearly, stress made him think stupid things.

"You're really not mad?" Prompto asked, pulling back from the hug and looking at Noctis in surprise.

Noctis shook his head no. "No. Though I'm wondering if I should call you Hero now, instead," he joked quietly, putting his arm around Prompto's shoulders and leaning back against the couch.

Shaking his head no, Prompto leaned into Noctis' arm and placed his head on Noctis' shoulder. "I think you still win on the Hero counter. I'm happy just being your Blondie."

To that, Noctis chuckled and leaned his head against Prompto's, sighing a note and still trying to process all the information he'd learned. "My Blondie, huh? I think I can deal with that." He stared at the ceiling, and he found himself wondering exactly what he'd done to deserve someone like Prompto in his life. Whatever it was, he felt like he owed the universe a massive debt that he'd never be able to repay. But he was happy to keep trying, as long as Prompto wanted him around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this wasn't _too_ out of left field, and that I managed to clear up most questions you could have!
> 
> Be ready for another chapter of [To Close the Year](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9338759/chapters/21160544) by [nicoleiacross](http://archiveofourown.org/users/nicoleiacross/pseuds/nicoleiacross) to accompany this, soon! Hopefully she'll be able to answer any more questions you have!


	24. Safe With Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _'cause i won't let them know; i won't let you go. baby.  
>  i don't care what your past is; i don't need no answers.  
> just have faith in me_  
> [safe with me](https://open.spotify.com/track/3eRE3Ng4VmqcXtwHcn867r) \- sam smith

The whole family had lauded Prompto as a hero for going to get their fathers. Noctis himself had lumped praise on Prompto for days, too. Praise that he always tried to deflect, which wasn't surprising. Prompto insisted, up and down and back and front, that he didn't really _need_ praise for doing the right thing. But no one in the family agreed with him. Not even Regis and Clarus agreed.

Noctis' dad had taken a liking to Prompto that Noctis would have never expected. In the back corner of his mind, Noctis wondered if it had to do with a sense of responsibility he felt for Prompto's past. There was no _real_ responsibility there, of course. Everyone knew it. But Noctis' dad always talked about a great disappointment in his father's inaction in regards to Niflheim. Correcting that was the first thing that he'd done when he took over the company, Regis said. Much to the disapproval of his father, but the second thing he'd done was to reform a couple of the more archaic policies the company had. Noctis had never had any clue that his grandfather was such a closed-minded dinosaur, but he supposed that he probably shouldn't have been too surprised.

Since the day his dad had visited, Regis had been a very different person whenever Noctis spoke to him. He sounded like his father still, sure. But there was more _dad_ than _father_ mixed in there. Pride. Eagerness to listen. Suggesting of things that Noctis was actually _interested_ in. Like, letting him start taking fun classes next year. A songwriting class. And he'd even found a couple of guitar classes in the area for Noctis to take.

This new version of his dad was taking a lot of getting used to... but Noctis wondered if this was what everyone with normal relationships with their parents felt like.

Today, though... today was different than any day over the past few weeks, for a couple of reasons. Noctis had his Valentine's Day gift for Prompto picked and in his wallet. Two weekend passes to a chocobo ranch out by Alstor, near where they'd gotten the kittens. Prompto often spoke about a love for chocobos, and several of his pictures from before he'd moved in with the group had been _of_ chocobos at the ranch. Noctis had to hope that, because of that, the gesture of the weekend away would be enough to get them past everything they'd been through these past few months. Enough to thank him for everything he'd done.

It wasn't. But it was a start.

The second reason was one that had been a long, long time coming. Finally, today, Ignis and Gladio were coming home. And today, the whole apartment was buzzing with making preparations. Ignis would probably complain if he knew, but they'd made a point to clear out anything in the apartment that obstructed a path to any of the important areas. Ignis—who had his replacement shinbone and kneecap in now, but hadn't regained any more of his eyesight at all—was moving around with the help of a wheelchair, or a pair of crutches when he was feeling brave enough, but removing things from his path would likely make moving around the apartment easier for him. And they really didn't want to make it any harder than it had to be. They'd moved the kittens' dishes to the kitchen, and the coffee table off to the side. At least until Ignis no longer needed the wheelchair.

Iris, for her part, had been baking up a storm. From the moment she got up to the moment that she and Aranea left in Noctis' car to go and pick Ignis and Gladio up from the hospital. Dozens of pastries decorated the counter; bread, cakes, pies, Ignis' favorite lemon cookies... everything she could get her hands on. The whole group was endlessly happy that Ignis and Gladio were coming home, and when two thirty rolled around, Iris and Aranea had bolted out the door to head to the hospital and pick them up.

Prompto had been sitting in the middle of the floor and taking pictures of the kittens since the girls left fifteen minutes ago. Noctis watched him from the kitchen, with a mouth full of chocolate chip cookie and a loving smile, as Laser climbed up Prompto's sleeve. The kitten came to a stop on his shoulder, nuzzling her nose against his ear. Prompto's responding laugh had Noctis smirking a lopsided smirk as turned to glance watched Zest play with absolutely nothing on the floor.

Now was as good a time as any, wasn't it? Noctis reached into his pocket, into his wallet, and pulled out a small silver envelope. It was the size of a business card—which was the size that the weekend passes to the cabin on the chocobo ranch were—and the metallic envelope glinted against the light coming down from the ceiling. Nervousness leaped up from his throat, but he tamped it down as best he could as he crossed the room.

"So, Blondie," he started as he crouched down to the floor next to his boyfriend. After ensuring that he wasn't going to crush or harm a kitten, he sat down and set the envelope under his thigh.

Prompto turned to glance at him with a soft smile and an eyebrow quirked upward. "What's up, Hero?" He leaned over lazily, nudging the shoulder with Laser on it against Noctis'. Laser, ever the opportunist, took the chance and climbed onto Noctis' shoulder instead. And then, much to Prompto (and, admittedly, Noctis') amusement, she hopped up to stand on top of Noctis' head.

Both Prompto and Noctis laughed for a good thirty seconds about that.

It was Prompto who came back to reality first. He reached a hand up and gathered the adventurous kitten from the top of Noctis' head, placing her in his lap and smiling fondly after her as she went to wrestle her brother on the other side of the room. "So, before Laser decided you were a jungle gym-" he smirked and nudged Noctis with his shoulder again- "you were gonna say something."

Noctis laughed softly. "Right." The envelope was a soft outline against the bottom of his thigh, and he raked his teeth over his lip nervously. "So... day after tomorrow's Valentine's Day." He dashed his tongue out along his lips and reached beneath his leg. "I, um... I have your present. I know it's early, but I figured it'd be better to let you have a couple days to get ready, so..." Nervously, he passed the envelope over to Prompto.

As Prompto fiddled with the back flap of the envelope, Noctis rambled. "I know it's kind of short notice, but I've been thinking about this place since you kept taking pictures of it when we passed it on the way to Alstor and went on that twenty minute tangent on how much you love chocobos and how much wanted to ride down to that pond and have a picnic or something. I know it's winter and we won't be able to picnic, but we can ride around the area, right? So, I went ahead and grabbed them for us to go on Valentine's Day and stay until Monday. And-"

Stopping his rambles before they could take root anymore, Prompto turned and pressed a hard kiss to Noctis' lips. The kiss was eager and grateful, and Prompto kept his lips on Noctis' for as long as he could, finally breaking free with a gasp for air. "The _chocobo ranch_?" he exclaimed as he gasped for air. "Like, Wiz's Chocobo Ranch?! Really, Hero?!" His whole face was smiling, and he leaned in for another kiss.

When the kiss broke, Noctis nodded his head. "Yeah," he answered. "I remember how excited you were to see the chocobos in their stables as we passed, and I thought it'd be a romantic weekend away. I'm... sorta new at this whole romance thing, but..." He trailed off, slightly embarrassed but not sure why. Especially with the way Prompto was smiling at him.

Prompto nodded eagerly. "It _is_ romantic!" he declared. "How is it that you always know? You always seem to find exactly what it is to make me smile?" He moved his body so that he was kneeling over Noctis' lap on the floor, knees on either side of Noctis' hips.

Noctis chuckled. "Kinda happens when you fall in love with someone, I guess," he answered as he drew his knees upward and leaned back, resting his hands behind him.

"Part of me wants to give you your Valentine's Day present now," Prompto admitted, leaning backward so that his back was resting against Noctis' thighs. "But the rest of me is feeling really, really inadequate compared to two freaking tickets to the chocobo ranch." His smile was bashful and nervous.

With a half-laugh, Noctis shook his head no. "Nothing you ever give me is inadequate. Nothing _about_ you is inadequate."

Prompto shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, these-" he held the tickets up- "are an _amazing_ gift, Hero. It's something I've wanted to do for so, so long but never been able to. Since the first time I passed the place." He half-smiled. "Nothing I ever give to you comes close." He frowned. "I have these plans, you know? Someday, when I'm a world-famous photojournalist, I'm gonna get you this massive gift. Maybe a vintage guitar or a state of the art turntable or some autographed AFI 45 or something. Something that means as much to you as all of these things you're doing for me mean to me..." His cheeks were pink, and he stared at the passes in his hands.

Shaking his head no, Noctis took the weight off of his hands, laying down on the floor. He reached up and grabbed hold of Prompto's hoodie by the collar to pull him close. "You don't understand," he started, his lips quirking into a grin as Prompto settled in against him, leaning his head against Noctis' shoulder. "You've given me something that's worth more than a weekend at a chocobo ranch or all of the records or turntables or guitars in the world. I'm _talking_ to my dad. Talking, Blondie. For the first time in my whole life. He's listening to what I want and we're actually understanding each other."

"But I-"

Noctis shook his head again. "But nothing," he insisted, smoothing his hand up and down Prompto's arm happily. "All my life, I've wanted to be on the same page as him. For him to accept me for who I am and... and love me. And I have that now. Because of you," he mused with a soft smile. "So instead of feeling like you always have to 'equal me,' keep in mind that I'll, y'know, be working my whole life to equal you. And whatever you do decide to do is just extra." And with that, he placed a kiss to the top of Prompto's head.

Prompto laughed, slightly embarrassed, and said, "alright. But I'll still wait until this weekend. Maybe it'll add something, being at the chocobo ranch together."

Laughing, Noctis was about to reply when he heard the door open downstairs. His eyes widened. "It's them!" he exclaimed excitedly.

As Prompto got to his feet, he reached down to help Noctis up from the floor. When he stood, the pair of them exchanged half-smiles. Noctis pressed a soft kiss to Prompto's lips as they waited. It could take a few minutes, he was sure, because the pair of them would probably struggle to get up the stairs. Ignis' surgery had gone fine, the doctors had said—though they wouldn't know how successful it was until the muscles and tendons healed around it—but the fact of the matter was that he was still very much in a cast, up above his knee. And he still had almost no vision. Fifty percent in his right eye and none in his left, was what the doctor told Iris, with no chance at all to get anything more than that back.

It made Noctis wonder how he would adjust. But Ignis always did. No matter what happened, no matter what came his way, he adjusted. The man was steadfast as anyone Noctis had ever met before. Voices approached the top of the stairs—Noctis heard Iris telling Ignis how many steps were left, and Ignis thanking her every time—and then the doorknob turned.

Noctis wasn't sure what he expected to see. But Iris and Aranea on the right and left of Ignis, acting as human crutches to get him up the stairs, while Gladio limped up the stairs behind them on an actual pair of crutches... well, that wasn't it. The whole scene was jarring. Ignis was a man who had always prided himself on being fashionable and stylish. Right then, though, he stood before Noctis in a three-sizes-too-big hoodie which obviously belonged to Gladio, and a pair of sweatpants that covered the white immobilizer on his leg, and sunglasses indoors. None of these things were things that Ignis would normally wear, and it made Noctis realize exactly how bad off his friend was.

Humor drained from the room, as Noctis swallowed thickly. "Hey, Specs," he spoke, partly announcing his presence, but mostly greeting Ignis so that the whole room wasn't quiet.

"Welcome home!" Prompto followed up. He was trying to sound cheerful. Noctis could tell. But the cheer fell flat.

Ignis nodded a greeting, and smiled a smile that wasn't _quite_ a smile. More of an acknowledging twitch of the lips. "Thank you," he answered. "It smells nice in here. Like someone's been baking."

With an awkward laugh, Iris squeezed his shoulder a little bit. "That's me," she told him. "I thought, you know, the house should have a lot of sweets in it. Since you were coming home and that's totally worthy of celebration!" Her voice was a little bit better at keeping enthusiasm in it than Prompto's had been, but it still fell a little bit short.

Once again, Ignis smiled a not-quite-smile and nodded his gratitude. "That was kind of you, Iris," he responded in a quiet voice, as they turned him to get settled in on the couch.

Aranea put the footrest on the side of the couch that Ignis was sitting in up, so that he could rest there without trouble, then said, "I'm going to go get his wheelchair. It's in the back of the car." She excused herself and hurried down the stairs.

Iris hurried to the kitchen, gathering up a couple of treats. A pair of large lemon cookies—the kind that had always been Ignis' favorite—and a cherry tart for Gladio, who was settling in on the couch beside Ignis. She hurried back into the living room, handing each snack to their respective man and taking a seat in the recliner she'd claimed as her own. "Bet it feels good to be home, huh?" she asked. "Oh, and you can finally meet Noct and Prom's cats!"

The smile became slightly more genuine then. "Ah, yes. The cats that I've heard no end of stories about. Where are they?"

It was a sad question, especially since the felines in question had spotted Ignis and Gladio upon their entrance to the apartment and were sitting on the coffee table and staring at him in curiosity. Iris leaned forward and picked Laser up, moving the small tabby up closer to Ignis and setting her on his lap. "Here's one of them," she said, watching as Zest hopped onto the couch and introduced himself to Gladio. "This is Laser-"

"Noct's?" Ignis questioned fondly, reaching down with the hand not holding the lemon cookie and scratching the kitten gently.

Noctis laughed a soft and sad laugh. "Yeah," he answered.

"-and Gladio is holding Zest," Iris finished.

Ignis didn't move his head, simply kept petting Laser, and asked, "Zest?"

Prompto nodded an answer, as Aranea opened the door back up to bring Ignis' wheelchair into the apartment. But, as everyone else in the room had their eyes on him, he winced when he realized that a nod didn't quite cut it anymore. "Y-yeah," he answered. "He's orange. Like the orange zest in the cake you make. So... so, that's what I named him."

The whole room went quiet then. Make. It was highly unlikely that he'd be able to make that cake anymore, and most of them were aware of it. Prompto seemed to be the last to catch on to what he'd said, and when he did, he made a face that showed how completely mortified he was. Gladio glared a halfhearted and exhausted glare Prompto's way, and Prompto shrank back in embarrassment. He groped for Noctis' hand, squeezing it tight when he found it, unsure of what to say.

But Ignis seemed to sense the tension. "It's okay," he told Prompto. "You don't have to walk on eggshells, Prompto. I can handle it." He smoothed his fingertip along Laser's spine. The kitten seemed to approve, and she curled up in a ball to sleep in Ignis' lap.

"Iggy knows what he's up against," Gladio added, the glare fading into a calm expression. "We've talked about this a bunch."

Ignis nodded. "I'm not going to let it stop me. It may take some time, but I'm going to learn to do all the things that I used to do in this new circumstance." He breathed in slowly and let it out in a quick puff. "Whoever did this... they're not going to take my life away from me. The only thing holding me back right now is this." One hand moved to gesture to his leg. "But once I heal, I'll be the same as always. Just... just a little different." He turned his head down toward Laser on his lap.

"If anyone can do it, it's you," Prompto told Ignis with a half-assured smile on his face. And he was absolutely right, of course.

That was one of the things that Noctis had always admired most about Ignis, honestly. That his confidence was never truly shaken. That he fully believed that he was capable of doing anything in the world. And he was. If anyone could adjust to being mostly blind and still be the same person, with all the same skills that they had before, it was Ignis. Nothing in the world stopped him when he was determined to do something. Noctis glanced at Gladio, whose expression was proud, but barely masking the slightest bit of concern. Noctis understood that, too. Ignis was strong. But at the same time, he tended to push himself a little bit too hard sometimes. Noctis made a promise to himself to keep an eye on his friend, and ensure that he wasn't overdoing it; that he wasn't pushing himself too hard to do things that weren't safe for him.

Right now, though... right now, all that was important was the fact that everyone was home again. Ignis and Gladio were home again, and whoever had done this to them, the private investigator that his dad had hired would take care of everything.


	25. The Only Exception

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _up until now, i had sworn to myself that i'm content  
>  with loneliness. because none of it was ever worth the risk,  
> but darlin' you are the only exception._  
> [the only exception](https://open.spotify.com/track/7JIuqL4ZqkpfGKQhYlrirs) \- paramore

The chocobo ranch was everything that Noctis expected it to be and more. Even in the snow, the chocobos were ready and eager to escort Noctis and Prompto to wherever they wanted to go. Prompto had taken a liking a bright green chocobo named Vert, whereas Noctis had opted for the darker blue one—named Sapphire—and the pair of them had ridden off toward the frozen pond in the distance. It was still cold enough outside for the pond to be properly frozen. Noctis had spoken to Wiz, to see if he had any ice skates readily available. As it turned out, it was a common request for people who stayed there during the winter, so he'd made sure to stock several of any size. With a small rental fee, and a slightly larger bit of convincing, Noctis had talked Prompto into an ice skating lesson.

He was still pretty tentative. _Extremely_ tentative, actually. If Noctis heard the words "graceful as a baby anak" one more time, it would easily make a million. But every single time that Prompto said it, Noctis countered with the fact that he'd be _right there_ to keep Prompto up.

"I'm just saying!" Prompto commented dramatically from the back of his chocobo as the chilly winter wind whipped around his face. "We've already spent so much time in the hospital over the past few months that we could pretty much be considered doctors. Or at _least_ nurses! If I end up in there because you tried to teach me how to skate, it'll be a whole new record!"

Noctis laughed softly, pulling slightly on the reins to show his chocobo down a bit. "I promise. You'll be fine. You trust me, right?" he asked, smirking at his boyfriend.

They were nearing the pond now. Prompto, too, slowed his chocobo down and gave its neck a gentle pat. "I trust you, but I keep trying to tell you that I make a newborn anak look graceful!" Even with the words coming from his mouth, though, when his chocobo made an eager 'kweh' sound, a smile crossed his face. "Okay, it's hard to be anything but eager when a chocobo kwehs at you."

With a laugh, Noctis stopped his chocobo as they neared the icy pond and climbed off it's back. He turned and glanced at Prompto as he sat on the back of his bird, smiling at the happiness on his face. "I wouldn't let you fall if I could avoid it, Blondie," he promised. "If you hold onto my hands, I can keep both of us up." He smoothed a hand through his hair and loosened the grip his scarf had around his neck.

From the corner of his eye, on the road near Alstor, he spotted a maroon, vintage looking car as it drove past. It drove somewhat slowly, and while Noctis didn't pay a whole lot of mind to cars that passed him most of the time, he couldn't help but pay attention to how slowly this one was driving. As it turned a nearby corner, still driving slowly as it passed by the Alstor filling station, he hummed a note of intrigue and confusion, before turning his attention back to Prompto. Prompto was sliding his hands along his chocobo's neck, happily oblivious to the world around him. The maroon car's presence escaped Noctis' mind completely.

As Prompto dismounted the chocobo and smoothed his hand through his feathers one more time, Noctis stepped up behind him. Sapphire followed, and Noctis laughed softly, turning around to pet her neck. She craned her neck down, rubbing her face against Noctis' and loosely clasping her beak around his scarf to tug it lightly. Just as quickly, she released it and went pecked around in the snow.

"You know," Prompto mused, adjusting the bag with a thermos full of soup and another full of hot cocoa in it—as well as Prompto's Valentine's Day gift, which he still refused to tell Noctis about—on his shoulder. "I think I want to have chocobos someday. A nice little stable with chocobos in our backyard. And a place in the stable for all the stray cats to come and stay." He paused, sucking in a sharp breath. "I mean... my backyard. I didn't mean to assume that-"

Noctis shook his head and laughed softly. "Our backyard," he agreed, pressing a kiss to Prompto's cheek. "A chocobo stable. Does this mean you want to live on a farm?"

With a sheepish chuckle, Prompto shrugged. "Or at least have a huge backyard. With Iggy and Gladio on one side of us and Iris and Aranea on the other side. Maybe near here. This is a really nice area, isn't it?" He turned around and wrapped his arms around Noctis' shoulders.

As Noctis cast his eyes around the area, he nodded his agreement. "It is. Maybe if we lived around here, Wiz would breed us a couple of his chocobos," he mused, turning to pet Vert's head and laughing when the green bird snatched the hat from the top of Prompto's head.

A mess of blond hair—which Prompto hadn't even bothered to gel or coif that day, knowing that he'd be wearing a winter hat all day—fell from underneath the knit fabric and covered his eyes. "Aw, c'mon, man! I look like I just rolled out of bed!"

The chocobo dropped the hat to the ground, and while Prompto leaned down to pick it back up, from the corner of his eye, Noctis noticed that same maroon car driving by in the other direction. The speed was the same—slow enough to be odd—and at one point, it almost came to a full and complete stop. Suspicion narrowed his eyes just slightly, but he allowed himself to dismiss it as just some elderly person going to the corner store in Alstor. It was right around that corner, anyway. And old people drove slow like that. He turned to look at Prompto, to see him glancing back over his shoulder as he pulled his hat back onto his head.

"Did you see something?" he asked. "Something wrong with that car?"

Noctis waved it off and shook his head no, as the car drove off into the distance. "Nah. Probably just someone going to the store. We haven't seen many cars on the road, though, so it caught my attention. A nice vintage." He reached out and grabbed Prompto around the waist, pulling him close. There was no need to worry him with irrational paranoia. "So, Blondie. You ready to become a professional ice skater?" he asked, a tiny smirk crossing his face.

Prompto shook his head no. "Not even remotely," he answered. "Would it be cheating if I tried to buy myself some time by giving you your Valentine's gift now?" A sly little smirk crossed his face, like he was fully aware that it was slightly underhanded.

But Noctis' curiosity got the better of him. Still, giving Prompto a look that showed that he was _slightly_ unimpressed with being tempted like that, he said, "it's cheating. But I'm curious enough to let it slide." He put one hand on each of Prompto's hips, loosening his grasp a little bit.

To that, Prompto chuckled softly. "Prompto: one, ice skating disaster falls: zero." He turned and grabbed the bag from his shoulder, reaching in and taking out a thin square.

Noctis weighed the item in his hand. The weight was familiar, of course. Like something he'd carried in his hand hundreds of times. About a foot wide, but thin. It was wrapped lovingly in pink wrapping paper, with a red bow tied around it, and Noctis quirked a little smirk. "This is cute," he told Prompto, pointing to the bow.

"I figured... Valentine's Day and everything..." Prompto murmured, his cheeks tinting the same shade as the wrapping paper.

Noctis leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his right cheek. "I like it. Much better than some little silver envelope." He tugged at the red bow, the ribbon losing form and falling down around the package. As he collected it in his hand, he tore at the wrapping paper, and his eyes widened. Beneath the wrapping was a quite obviously used—but still in good quality—copy of the vinyl version of 'You Are My Sunshine' by Johnny Cash, with a folded note from Prompto on the top. He unfolded the note.

 _Think you can be my Valentine as well as my Hero?_ the note read. And inside the folded paper was a photo of their whole family together, back before Gladio and Ignis' accident. Prompto was still a bit busted up from his fight, but he still had a bright and beautiful smile on his face, and his hand in Noctis'. Iris' eye was a bit bruised, but she smiled as Aranea held her around the waist. Ignis and Gladio had their arms around each other, and endlessly happy expressions on their faces. And Noctis ran his fingers along the glossy page.

"As if you need to ask that question, Blondie," Noctis answered the question on the page.

Prompto chuckled softly at Noctis. "I figured it couldn't hurt to put it out there," he commented shyly.

Noctis reached forward and wrapped his arms around Prompto's waist again. The record and the photo were pressed against his back, too, but at the moment, Noctis was more concerned with showing his gratitude than anything else. He leaned in close, capturing Prompto's lips in a soft kiss. "Thank you, Blondie," he whispered against Prompto's lips. "This is the perfect addition to my record collection. Something I can play on important days, too."

This time, it was Prompto who kissed him. Kissed him hard and almost pulled the breath from his lungs. Noctis' heart fluttered a bit, and when the kiss broke, he blinked at Prompto, speechless. "That... was unexpected," he chuckled softly. "What'd I do to deserve that?"

"Important days. Like anniversaries?" Prompto asked.

Noctis nodded. "That's what I meant, yeah," he answered, chuckling bashfully.

The smile on Prompto's face said more than words could have. He was thinking about the meaning behind that. "And birthdays. And Valentine's Days in the future. Does that mean that you think we'll be together long enough for that to, you know, matter?" he asked with an embarrassed laugh.

But Noctis shook his head no. Prompto looked a little bit disappointed for a second, which made Noctis laugh a sheepish and embarrassed laugh. "No, no I mean... I don't _think_ we will, Blondie. Think about it, okay? You... you know, you showed me happiness. You scraped the surface and helped me find me. You, you know... made my _dad_ see those things in me. If you think I can see myself with anyone else, knowing all that? You're insane."

In the back corner of his mind, and alongside that revelation, there was a question bubbling to the surface. He thought of Ignis and Gladio, and how Ignis had said that the world was just clearer when he was _with_ Gladio. Ignis' words on Thanksgiving entered his mind. _I think it's just about finding that one person that makes the whole world around you spin a little less._ Prompto made his world spin a little less. Even when things were crazy. Even when nothing in the world made sense and everything was miserable and everything around him was crumbling down to his feet... Prompto was there. Prompto made things clear; made him feel like he wanted to slow the passage of time, so there were more hours in the day to spend with him. Like Ignis had said.

The question pushed at his mind again, but he tamped it down. It was crazy. It was _insane_. He and Prompto had only been _together_ for two months. But still... they'd been two of the happiest months of Noctis' life. Even more than that, honestly. Back since they'd first met, Noctis had been happy. He had no idea, honestly. Logic dictated that it was too soon. But his heart... his heart didn't agree. Maybe when he got home, he'd talk to someone about it. Ignis or Gladio. Or... or his dad. They'd probably tell him that it was crazy. Tell him that it was too soon. Knock some sense into him.

Prompto was looking at him, curiosity lining his eyes. "Everything okay, Hero?" he asked.

At that, Noctis snapped back into reality. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. Ready to conquer the frozen pond, Blondie?" He poked a gentle, tickling poke to Prompto's side.

"No," Prompto answered, pushing at Noctis' hands with a pursed-lipped pout. "But for you, Hero, I'll try."

So, they moved to lace on their skates, using a cleared-off fallen log as a bench. The myriad of lines on the ice showed exactly how many people had been here to do exactly this so far this year. But not today. Today, it was almost like the whole pond had been reserved just for them. Noctis wouldn't have cared who saw, of course, but the privacy was nice, too. Some time to celebrate each other on Valentine's Day. The chocobos walked around the area, playing happily in the snow. Wiz had told them that the birds were very well-trained. That they'd stay near wherever they were told to stay until Prompto and Noctis gathered them up to ride them back to the ranch again. The birds dug in the snow with their beaks, knocked snow off of trees and shook it at each other, romping around and providing an entertaining sight and backdrop to Prompto's skating lesson.

When they finally took to the ice, Prompto proved true to his words. Before he even started moving, his legs wobbled in place. " _See_?" he declared in a question. "Graceful as a baby anak! One that's gotten into the secret booze supply people keep in the desert or wherever they keep baby anaks."

Noctis laughed and skated over to Prompto, reaching gloved hands out to grab each of his and holding them securely. "It's okay," he reassured Prompto, started to skate slowly backward and drag his protesting boyfriend along with him. "I promised that I wouldn't let you fall, right?" He made a gentle turn, dragging Prompto along behind him as he guided him slightly closer to the shore.

They continued this pattern, Noctis giving Prompto directions; to push out with each leg, how to catch himself when he stumbled. Prompto wasn't necessarily the best skater, and Noctis had to catch him a couple of times, too. But that was fine. Before long, he was actually able to continue without Noctis' arms keeping him up. He could turn, he could stop, he could speed up a little bit... Noctis smiled as he watched him start skating a little more confidently, a little more independently.

As he practiced and continued to improve, Noctis skated around too. He moved up behind Prompto and placed each hand on one side of his waist, gliding along the ice together with him like that. Prompto laughed a little bit, and turned in Noctis' arms. "See, now... if I'd learned from Iris or Aranea back in the day like you suggested, I'd never actually be able to keep on my feet like this," Prompto pointed out.

"Plus, I'd probably have been jealous. And back then, I would have been so confused as to why I was jealous." Noctis laughed a humorless note.

Prompto arched an eyebrow in amusement. "You felt something back then too, huh?" he asked, standing on slightly wobbly legs, his eyes on Noctis as he let one side of his mouth pull upward into a grin. "I mean, you know I did. I felt something when I saw you at the quad that day. Still say that's the luckiest clumsy moment I've ever had."

Noctis laughed softly and nodded, taking Prompto's hands in his again and starting to skate backward like they'd been before. "Yeah. Back then I had no idea what it was, though. Just... here's this guy. With this honest smile and these eyes that could move mountains if he tried. And he wants to spend time with me. And _I_ want to spend time with _him_. All the time." He laughed a soft note. "My heart was trying to tell me something my head didn't understand yet." He stopped skating backward then.

Prompto didn't stop gliding, though, and glided into Noctis with a gentle thud of impact. "I was beating myself up," he admitted sheepishly. "Because here's this guy... who's straight. You know? Who's never given me any indication that he's interested in _men_ , let alone interested in someone like me. But then... you were. I still pinch myself sometimes," he confessed.

"You're not dreaming, Blondie." Noctis shook his head no.

The smile on Prompto's face could have stopped traffic if he let it. Noctis responded with a lopsided smirk, and leaned forward to capture Prompto's lips with his. It was quick and it was chaste, but something about the romantic setting made it feel anything _but_ chaste, too. Suddenly... he wanted to get them back to the ranch as quickly as possible.

In his periphery and over Prompto's shoulder, Noctis blinked a couple of times when that same maroon car caught his attention, except this time, it had stopped. Noctis narrowed his eyes into the distance and craned his neck over Prompto's shoulder. The car was stopped on the side of the road, but Noctis couldn't see through the tinted windows to identify who was driving. After everything they'd been through, though, he didn't want to take any chances whatsoever. Just as suddenly as the first urge had overcome him, the need to get back to the ranch doubled, but for a completely different reason.

Prompto caught on to his tension and released Noctis from his grasp. "Hero?" he asked.

"We have to get back to the ranch," Noctis insisted. "That car. It's been past us twice that I've seen and right now it's stopped."

Before Prompto could turn to look, Noctis stopped him. "Don't look," he insisted. "I don't know if whoever's there can see me looking, but I'd rather not call too much attention to it if I can avoid it. We'll be safe on the ranch, though. Especially if we lock the door to our room." Maybe he was being paranoid, but Noctis was certain that he'd rather be safe than sorry.

When Prompto turned around, he cast a subtle glance up to the road and then looked back down, biting hard on his lip. "You think someone's following us?" he asked.

Noctis shrugged a shoulder. "I don't know," he answered. "It could just be someone like those Alliance assholes. Uncomfortable seeing two guys together like this and trying to spook us." That thought was almost enough to make Noctis _not_ want to retreat, honestly. Almost. But not quite. "But..."

"But after everything we've been through this year," Prompto agreed, "I think it'd be for the best if we went back to the ranch."

With a nod, Noctis turned around on the fallen log, so that his body was facing the car. If whoever was inside left, he wanted to see them coming. In silent concern, the pair exchanged their ice skates for their boots again, packed up their romantic date and called their chocobos to them. After a final glance toward the maroon car, Noctis and Prompto hurried away from the pond. And with a glance over his shoulder as they sped away, Noctis noticed the car pulling away from the side of the road and driving in the opposite direction.


	26. I Hope You Suffer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _i hope you suffer, i hope you do  
>  just like i, i fucking suffered!  
> just like you, you made me suffer!_  
> [i hope you suffer](https://open.spotify.com/track/7AX7C2oJrN1ZLkLyBlofz1) \- afi

The whole rest of the weekend passed by without any sign of that maroon car. But maybe that was partially because—aside from a short trip to visit the chocobos the next morning—they spent pretty much the whole remaining time they were at the ranch in their room with a 'do not disturb' sign on the door... thoroughly enjoying themselves. If whoever owned the maroon car had driven around looking for them anymore over the course of the weekend, they'd never have known. And on Monday morning, they packed up and headed home. Prompto had a morning of work, Noctis had a morning of classes, and they'd made a plan to go for a photography walk when Prompto got home an hour after Noctis did. He'd be home alone for half an hour, with Ignis and Gladio at physical therapy, Iris with them, and Aranea at hockey practice. So, that gave him plenty of chance to get some work done.

Somehow, though, suffering through econ class was all the more difficult now that his father knew about his lack of desire for it anymore. He still did his classwork, of course, and was still managing to pull decent marks, but between all the distractions and the fact that, for once, everything seemed to be okay... it was just becoming increasingly difficult to force himself to work as hard as he had been before. 

Today though, he planned on getting a full hour of work in on his marketing paper before Prompto got home and they left to walk around town. As he cut the engine of his car in the garage, he heaved a happy sigh and reached into the passenger's seat for his messenger bag. As he stepped out of the car, he noticed that it was slightly colder than usual in the garage. It was always somewhat chilly, of course. It was a garage, and the large door kept opening and closing to let cars in and out, so keeping it warm wasn't exactly the easiest thing. But this was an odd sort of cold.

After a cursory glance around the room, Noctis paused and blinked when he realized that the other door was open a crack. Tilting his head to the side, he raked his teeth over his lower lip and walked over toward the door, pushing it closed. _Must have forgotten to close it this morning..._ he thought, glancing up the stairs to see that the door to get into the actual apartment was closed. That was good. At least there was no chance that Laser and Zest had gotten outside.

"That would've been a disaster," he murmured to himself as he reshouldered his messenger bag. "Pretty sure no one in the house would forgive me if I was the reason the kittens ran away."

Closing the door and locking it—anyone who needed to get in had a key, after all—Noctis turned around and started up the stairs to get inside and get started on his paper. The first sign that maybe something was off, was the fact that when he put the key into the lock and turned it, the door locked instead of unlocked. Part of him wondered if maybe Ignis and Gladio had gotten home early. Or Aranea. Could he maybe hope for a little bit of alone time with Prompto?

He chuckled at himself as he put the key back in the lock and unlocked the door again. Now he was just being silly. Ravus never let Prompto off work early. As he turned the knob and opened the door, he glanced down at his feet. "Anyone home?" he called, pushing the door closed behind him before glancing up from the floor.

When he did, he immediately wished that he hadn't.

Ardyn. Ardyn sat on his couch, with Laser in his lap sleeping and Zest standing on the coffee table, playing with the edges to his scarf as he leaned forward to tease her with them. For a second, Noctis froze in place. But when he realized exactly what was happening, he made a move to turn and run back out the door. As he turned, though, he froze in place when he spotted two rather large men—men he'd seen around campus; members of the football team, he thought—standing on either side of the door. The one on the right reached down and turned the lock over, smirking at him.

"Well, that would be rude, wouldn't it, Noct?" Ardyn mocked. "To leave when you have guests over."

Noctis eyed the two football players with extreme—and obviously justified—wariness. All he could think of was Prompto's attack, and he took a step back away from the door. Until he realized that he was backing _toward_ Ardyn. He turned his head over his shoulder, but didn't dare turn his back on the two idiots on either side of the door, either. Words. Words would have been wise right now, but what could he even _say_ to three men who'd broken into his apartment.

Ardyn seemed to have him covered, though. "Oh, I know, kitty. It's terrible when you're napping and someone puts you down." He set Laser down, gave his scarf another couple of shakes for Zest, then stood from the couch, walking languidly toward Noctis. "Noct, this is _quite_ the lovely home you have here. Your friends and your _boyfriend_ are quite lucky that your father is rich enough to sponge from, hm?" he asked.

Movement from the door caught his attention when Ardyn spoke the word 'boyfriend.' When Noctis turned and looked, the guy on the right crossed his arms at his chest and leered at Noctis in disgust. And with that, the situation became all the more clear. Thing One and Thing Two were Alliance members. Ardyn had brought them here to... to what, get whoever was the first person to come through the door? Noctis was equal parts glad and not that he'd been the one. That it hadn't been Ignis or Gladio. Or _Prompto_.

"Th-they don't sponge," came Noctis' shaky reply. He tried to sound confident. Tried, but didn't succeed.

Ardyn was behind him now, too close for comfort. He heard the laugh on the Dean of Students' lips as if it was coming from a pair of headphones or something. Ardyn wasn't in his space, no. But he was mere inches from it, and Noctis had the urge to turn and walk the other way, until he realized exactly where he'd be walking _to_. "No, no, of _course_ they don't sponge, dear boy. Anyone would take their brand-new beloved on a weekend trip to a chocobo ranch, wouldn't they? Magno? Fortis? Can you tell me that you'd do that for your lady friends?"

The one on the right shook his head no. "Fuck that. Wouldn't do that for _anyone_ ," he snorted, raising his chin toward Noctis.

"Shit's expensive. Quickest and easiest way to know someone's a gold digger, if they expect that shit from you. 'Course, wouldn't expect any less from that little princess." The second one popped his knuckles and stared Noctis down, like he was waiting for some kind of signal from Ardyn.

To that, the first one laughed. "Should've just ended him when we had the chance," he mused, glancing over at his friend with a head tilt.

They were... they were the ones who'd hurt Prompto. Anger flared up from the pit of Noctis' chest and clouded his common sense, causing him to step forward twice, fists balled at his sides. "You bastards are the ones who-" Before he could even raise one hand—before he could even finish his _sentence_ —the guy on the left reached out with one hand and effortlessly shoved Noctis back toward Ardyn... who stepped out of the way and let Noctis tumble down and impact the coffee table. It didn't break, but Noctis felt the sharp metal corner jam into his side. As he tried to pick himself up, he saw the kittens skitter away into the nearest open bedroom door—Ignis and Gladio's.

"H-how did you know about the chocobo ranch?" Noctis grunted out as he managed to get himself to his hands and knees. His side throbbed. The table hadn't broken the skin, but it would _definitely_ leave a hell of a bruise, at the very least.

Ardyn, from where he stood in Noctis' periphery, nodded his head toward the two by the door. "I happened to have some business in Alstor that day," he explained, backing up a couple more steps and taking a seat at the kitchen counter. "And lo and behold, I drive past and see you and dear, sweet Prompto skating together. Naturally, I took an interest."

Noctis blinked. "The maroon car..." he murmured.

Before Ardyn answered, the larger of the two Alliance assholes delivered a kick to Noctis' side. Blinding, searing pain ripped through Noctis' rib cage then, and he fell to the ground on his side, clutching his ribs and trying to catch his breath. The other idiot reached down and grabbed hold of Noctis' shirt, hauling him up from the floor and grabbing hold of his arms. Pain shot through his ribs as his arms were forced behind his back.

"The maroon car," Ardyn answered nonchalantly. "I saw you looking. Sent you running like a pair of cowards. But I wasn't prepared to deal with you that day anyway, so perhaps it was better that you ran. It gave me the time to come up with this plan instead."

Blinking hard, Noctis opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by a punch to his left cheek. His whole face throbbed to match his ribs now, and Ardyn continued speaking. "You see, I had to make you understand exactly what happens when you don't leave well enough alone. I've caught on to your father's efforts to catch me. His private investigator was _not_ nearly as subtle as he should have been. He's quit now, you see? All I needed to do was plant the right information, and now he thinks that your father is stalking me. Easy enough," he commented glibly.

Noctis opened his mouth to speak again, but another punch—this time to his stomach—silenced him. Beyond a forceful outward breath, anyway. He heaved, struggling to breathe, and trying desperately to tear his arms from the grip of the idiot holding them.

Ardyn took a couple steps closer, lifting a foot and placing it on the coffee table. "I hope you're paying attention, Noct. Because this is the important part." He smirked wryly. "You see, since you're so _desperate_ to find out how I know about dear, sweet Prompto, that you'll stoop to researching behind my back and calling your father against me? I figured I should share the reason with you. You'd appreciate that, wouldn't you?" he taunted, gesturing toward the coffee table and stepping away.

The guy holding him shoved Noctis with all his might, and this time, the glass in the center of the coffee table _did_ shatter with the impact. Noctis crashed through it, shards of glass finding their way into his back, his arms, his legs, his face... fortunately he'd had the mental fortitude to close his eyes. His cry of agony shot through the apartment like a loud note of unpleasant music, and Noctis whimpered where he lay. Each movement, each breath, made his whole body hurt. When he finally opened his eyes, he saw Ardyn waving his lackeys off. Then the next thing he saw—right up in his personal space this time—was Ardyn. The man crouched down on the outside of the coffee table frame and leaned down inside, smirking at Noctis with that same Cheshire smile that he'd always given.

"You see, Niflheim was a lovely place when you knew the right people," Ardyn started his explanation. "I imagine your father would have flourished there, if he'd seen it for what it could be. A place where, in exchange for a free place to live, people did work for others. A place where, if you worked your way through the ranks, you could control as much or as little as you wanted to."

Noctis coughed, but the word " _slavery_!" escaped his lips.

Ardyn chortled at that. "From one boy's very skewed point of view, perhaps," he commented. "It's a shame, what happened to poor Laeta. I didn't _want_ to have to kill her, you see. But the poor woman left me with no choice. Not only did _she_ try and escape, but she took one of our new workers with her. He would have thrived, had he been given the chance to-"

"No!" Noctis choked, reaching out with one painful throbbing arm to hit whatever part of Ardyn he could reach. Instead, his hand gripped a chunk of the man's hair. Noctis pulled with all his might, which, unfortunately wasn't much at this point. It was enough to pull out three already-loose strands of burgundy hair, before falling back to his side, impacting with a thud and a crack as the glass beneath it broke further again.

Heaving a distraught sigh, Ardyn laughed a breathy note. It seemed like he hadn't even noticed the hair being removed from his head. "Hair-pulling? Really, Noct? I knew you were childish, but..." He didn't move from Noctis' space, instead just grinned. " _As I was saying_ , Laeta was just the tip of the iceberg. When word arrived that her son had escaped, others started trying to escape. I lost four workers in that same month and came under _intense_ scrutiny from my superiors. It was quite taxing, honestly. But in time, after tightening my ship, I managed to get things back."

Noctis reached up again, trying to push Ardyn away. But the pain made his hands fumble, and all that ended up impacting were two of Noctis' fingernails against Ardyn's cheek. The pain made Ardyn hiss, and the momentary sight of blood dripping down Ardyn's cheek was rewarding enough to elicit a grimaced attempt at a smile from Noctis. Good. Make him hurt.

Ardyn raised one hand, calling one of the other two forward, but then holding his index finger up. "So much fight. I suggest you sit there and listen, lest I have my friend here stomp on your head and make sure that you never see your friends or eat from something other than a straw again. This part is important, anyway." Blood dripped down Ardyn's cheek, and he reached up to wipe it away before he continued speaking.

He gestured to Thing One and pointed down at Noctis. Seconds later, the football player's foot was on Noctis' shoulder, holding him in place and driving the pieces of glass in his back and shoulder blade further into his skin. Any pride that Noctis felt for making Ardyn hurt was gone now, replaced with pain.

"You see, Noct, _just_ when I started getting respect back with my peers, that's when your _father_ rolls into town and starts changing everything. Like he owns the place. Like _all of Niflheim_ is his." Anger bubbled up behind Ardyn's normally nonchalant and confident demeanor, and he looked down at Noctis with a vitriol that was absolutely _terrifying_. "The day they took my factory away, the day I was cast out of my home like some kind of _villain_ , I vowed revenge. I vowed that I would make your father regret _everything_." He looked at Noctis. "And that, dear boy, is where you come in. It was _so easy_ to falsify the documents to convince people that I was a reputable educator."

He sighed. "Depressingly easy, honestly. This school should be far more careful. You see, I tried last year, to get what's his name fired." The old Dean. Noctis knew who he was talking about, even without him saying so. "Doddering old fool had enough skeletons in his closet that I could have had him _jailed_ , though, so making him quit before this term was the easy part. I wanted to start this last year, your freshman year. But the time it took me to get him to quit was shameful. Which is fine, because this worked out perfectly. What with dear Prompto starting school here. It was the perfect liaison. Especially with how he latched onto you. I didn't plan that, but it couldn't have gone better," he hummed thoughtfully.

"Wh-" Noctis couldn't even complete a word. The football player stepped against his shoulder harder, and Noctis felt the pain starting to take his consciousness away. His vision swam a bit, but he refused to go down that easily.

Ardyn laughed an amused note. "I admit, I had no idea that Prompto would be brave enough to go and talk to your father. But that honestly makes this all the better," he mused. "Regis and his precious son finally get on the same page, and his son meets with an _unfortunate_ accident in his own home. Don't worry, dear boy. We're not going to kill you." He shook his head. "Just planning to send a message."

Magno or Fortis—whichever he was—stepped harder on Noctis' shoulder, to the point that Noctis felt bones grinding. A painful pop echoed out through his body, and he felt his consciousness ebbing away even further. That merely made Ardyn laugh once more.

"Do me a favor, dear boy," Ardyn chided as he stood back up straight. "Make sure that your father stops his research, will you? I would hate to think of what _else_ could happen to you or your friends—or even _him_ —if he doesn't."

Noctis couldn't find his mind to answer. His consciousness started fading in and out, pain in his shoulder, his ribs, his whole _body_ , inching him closer to allowing it to fade. While he faded in and out, he heard Ardyn tell the football brothers, "don't worry. It's not like anyone _important_ will believe him, anyway." And then, "I feel that perhaps we've overstayed our welcome. We should leave now, hm? Before anyone else gets home."

Somehow, the absence of the football player's foot on Noctis' shoulder made the pain even worse. And when it left, the last thing Noctis remembered before consciousness faded away completely, was the sound of the apartment door closing as the three men left.

*

In and out. Awareness went in and out several times over the course of the next hour or two. At one point, Noctis heard Aranea's voice. She asked what happened, tried to wake him up, marveled in horror at how bloodied and beaten he was. Noctis' consciousness was out again by the time she pulled her phone out to call an ambulance.

It came back in while he was inside the ambulance. The EMTs said several things, during which Noctis was struggling to pay attention. Separated shoulder, broken ribs, minor internal bleeding around his hip joint, dozens of lacerations... he also was vaguely aware of one EMT telling another to scrape under his nails for the blood and take the hair from his hand and put it in a bag. Once again, consciousness left when the right EMT took his hand and started scraping under his fingernails.

And this time, it stayed gone for awhile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Two chapters for the price of one today! Surprise #2! Angst and drama and violence! Surprise #3: I'm a terrible person!
> 
> Thanks to [IntoThePensive](http://archiveofourown.org/users/IntoThePensive) for helping me with all the medical mumbo jumbo for this chapter, and being my rock as always (as well as the best bestie ever). And thanks to [nicoleacross](http://archiveofourown.org/users/nicoleiacross/pseuds/nicoleiacross) for the idea for this part to begin with!
> 
> >:]


	27. Siberia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _we'll find ways to fill the empty, far from all the hysteria.  
>  i don't care if we suddenly find ourselves in Siberia._  
> [siberia](https://open.spotify.com/track/3llQpbp9vJd8UOZcfJRySa) \- lights

By the time he was a block away from the apartment, Prompto found himself wishing that he'd agreed to let Noctis come and pick him up. It wasn't cold or anything, but Prompto really just wanted to be back with Noctis again. Maybe it was clingy, but he honestly felt like he couldn't get enough of Noctis' time. After the weekend they'd spent inside the cabin at the chocobo ranch, Prompto found himself anticipating _every single bit_ of alone time he got with Noctis. Needy? Maybe. But Noctis never seemed to care. In fact, when Prompto pulled him into secluded corners when they walked down the street to steal a quick kiss or two? Noctis seemed to enjoy it.

Last time, the night before their vacation, they'd almost gotten carried away. Prompto had pulled him into an alcove in an abandoned old hobby shop and around the corner from their apartment, completely shrouding them from view. And the kisses they'd stolen then had been _anything_ but quick. And there had been _way_ more than one or two. It had taken all of Prompto's willpower to stop the situation. Even more when it seemed like Noctis was _disappointed_ that they had to stop.

They'd more than made up for it over the weekend, though. Prompto grinned, thinking back to that cabin at the chocobo ranch. They'd come back from ice skating, and for a time, they were on edge. But then, after a little while, they'd agreed not to let it ruin their Valentine's Day. Boy, had that worked.

As Prompto walked down the street, he thought of the cabin. Of Noctis' hands on his skin. Noctis' fingers in his hair. Noctis' lips on his neck. His chest. Pressing open-mouthed kisses to his thighs. Wrapped around his dick. The feel of Noctis' skin beneath his lips, and the taste of _Noctis'_ dick in _his_ mouth. And the sound of Noctis' voice... _god_ the sound of Noctis' voice. The way he whispered Prompto's name, or the way his breath sounded when it picked up; the way he whispered soft sounds of approval when Prompto brushed his tongue along the length of his dick...

Prompto's breath hitched in his throat at the memories as they flashed through his mind. He blinked hard as he approached the corner that would take him home. A rush of blood coursed down between his legs, and he felt his cheeks heating up, too. This was exactly how it happened when Noctis was with him, too. They'd talk, laugh for a bit, and then after they went quiet, Prompto's mind would wander. And then he'd turn to Noctis, see that look in his eyes, and realize that his mind was wandering, too. And then they'd fall to the bed, or sometimes the floor, against the wall, wherever, act out whatever they'd been thinking, and go about the rest of their day.

He reached down to adjust his pants slightly, keep any visible sign of interest from showing, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and picked his step up to get home faster. Maybe the photography walk could wait. At least long enough for them to take a few minutes and-

As soon as his mind wandered down that road, he heard the sound of a siren starting up around the corner. It wasn't there, and then it was _deafening_ , and it jumped Prompto in his tracks, sending his eyebrows almost to his hairline. He barely had a chance to process his panic before it sounded like the sound was getting closer. It made sense, of course. The hospital was beyond his work, after all. The ambulance whizzed past him, and he felt the breeze from the speeding vehicle as it whipped his hair around underneath his hat. Whatever had happened... it was obviously an emergency.

Prompto stared after the ambulance as it disappeared around a corner, and blinked as he turned back around.

Before he could even register _that_ , or try to come up with some sort of explanation as to why the ambulance was there, his cell phone rang in his pocket. He reached for it, glancing at the screen to see Aranea's picture pop up. Of everyone, Aranea was the one who called him the least, so he was a little bit confused for a moment. Blinking that thought back, he touched the screen to accept the call and brought the phone to his ear.

"Aranea?" he asked, unable to hold his surprise in.

Aranea seemed breathless, and he heard movement in the background. It sounded like the echoes of running down the stairs in the garage. "Skinny. Some shit's happened at the apartment. Where are you right now?" she asked. Her tone was abrupt but not brash. There was definitely a lot of concern in there, too.

Prompto felt his stomach drop a little bit. Something had happened at the apartment? "I'm, uh... almost home," he told her. "The corner of Antes and Reliquit. So... almost home." He was repeating himself, sure. But it sounded serious, whatever was happening. "Should... should I run? I can be there in-"

"No," Aranea interrupted. "Stay where you're at. I'll pick you up." In the background, he heard the sound of a car door opening.

A car door opening? They had one car right now, didn't they? They all knew where Noctis' spare car key was, of course, but if Noctis wasn't there—if Aranea needed to drive the car for some reason—something must have happened. To Noctis? Prompto's grip on his phone tightened, and he hurried to the corner. "Is... is Noctis..." He couldn't even finish the sentence, honestly.

The fact that Aranea didn't answer right away, too, was worrisome. "Just... I'm on my way to you, Skinny. I'll... I'll tell you when I get there, okay?" Even as she spoke, he saw Noctis' car pulling out of the garage from down the street. She didn't wait for another word, or even a response, just hung up the phone and drove toward Prompto.

He stared blankly at the car as it approached, only moving once it came to a stop in front of him. He hurried around the car, sliding inside and looking at her in question. The words weren't even coming to his mind right now. All that was there was worry. Why was Aranea driving Noctis' car? Why wasn't Noctis there with her? If something had happened, then... where was Noctis?

Aranea breathed a sigh as Prompto buckled his seat belt. "I'm not gonna beat around the bush, Skinny, okay? Just gonna be straight with you." She took the car out of park, didn't even waste any time getting them back on the road. "Pretty Boy's... he's uh..." It was uncharacteristic of Aranea to fumble like this. Worst case scenarios flashed through Prompto's mind like tragedy movie scenes on repeat. Each and every one of them was a new way that Noctis could have possibly died. Suddenly, his heart hurt and a lump choked his throat.

"Is... is he..." Tears had already started forming in his eyes. He couldn't even say the word.

Honestly, Prompto wanted to be thankful when Aranea shook her head in an adamant no answer. "No! No, he's not... he's not dead or anything. No," she repeated. "He's..." She stared straight ahead, out at the road, and sighed softly. "Alright, listen. I walked into the apartment about fifteen minutes ago. Maybe twenty. Fuck, I dunno, it doesn't matter. Got out of practice early. But when I got in..." She was watching the road, but her eyes looked like they were a million miles away. "I thought he was. Saw him laying in the middle of the busted coffee table. He wasn't moving. He was... he was breathing, but he wasn't moving. He woke up a couple of times when I talked to him, I think. Tried to talk to me, but couldn't."

Prompto stared at her incredulously. "He... what..."

She shook her head. "I don't know, Skinny. I don't know what happened, but _something_ happened. It wasn't just some... random fall or anything. Someone did it to him. His face is bruised to hell, and he was all cut up and bloody. I called the ambulance and everything, but they wouldn't let me go with 'im. So, I locked the cats in your room with their food and their litter box, so they wouldn't get into the glass and hurt themselves, and left to follow 'em. Figured I'd call you before I tried to call the others, since you're his person and all." She glanced over at Prompto.

All of the information swirled around in Prompto's head, and he glanced down at his hands. Someone did it to him. Someone other than them was in their apartment, and they hurt Noctis. Suddenly, the fear morphed slightly, into anger. Slight anger. Anger that was still eclipsed by worry. But anger was definitely still there. He still held the phone in his hand, unable to focus even on the motor functions it took to put it in his pocket. "Are... you okay?" he asked Aranea. He wasn't okay, but Aranea looked more jarred than he'd ever seen her She had a hundred yard stare while she drove, and her hands gripped the steering wheel a little tighter than usual.

"Not really," she answered frankly. "Shook me a bit, getting home and seeing... seeing that, you know? I'd planned on surprising everyone when I got back. Figured you and Pretty Boy'd be on your walk, so I was gonna call in some supper and have it ready for when you got back and when Brains, the Big Guy, and Princess got back from their appointment."

Prompto frowned. "Should we call them?" he asked.

Aranea nodded. "Yeah. I've got that one, though. You should probably call Pretty Boy's old man," she insisted. "He's gonna be livid, but he's got to know."

Eyes moving down to his phone, Prompto raked his teeth over his lip. She was right. Of course she was right. But how? How did he do it? Blinking hard, he unlocked the screen on his phone and scrolled through his contacts for Noctis' dad's number, staring at the black words on his screen before turning his head to glance at Aranea for reassurance. She nodded once, and Prompto sighed softly, glancing back at his phone and tapping the call button. He brought the phone to his ear and waited nervously for Mr. Caelum to answer.

When he did, Prompto immediately wished that he could ask _anyone_ else to do this for him. "Prompto?" Mr. Caelum asked, obviously surprised to have Prompto calling him now.

"Mr. Caelum. I-"

Mr. Caelum laughed a soft laugh and breathed a half-exasperated breath. "Prompto, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Regis?" the man asked. It was true, of course. He'd asked many, many times. And maybe any other day, Prompto would have been more willing to smile about his boyfriend's father's approval of him.

Right now, though? Right now wasn't one of those times. "Right. Mr. C—uh...Regis—" Prompto corrected himself, "I... this..." He stumbled over his words, glancing out the window as the high roof of the hospital appeared in the distance. "There's been another incident. Noctis..."

The other end of the line was silent for a moment, Regis likely waiting for Prompto to continue. When he didn't, the man spoke up instead. "What about Noctis, Prompto?" he asked, and Prompto could almost hear the strain in his voice not to sound impatient.

"I don't know much," Prompto confessed, his voice shaky with emotion. "But he's... he's on his way to the hospital, sir. Aranea said that someone..." Internally, he was cursing himself; furious at the way that he couldn't seem to explain a simple concept to Noctis' father over the phone. But he couldn't. Maybe it was a bit of fear leaping up, preventing him from saying the words. Maybe it the fact that he didn't know exactly what had happened. Whatever it was, though, it added to his frustration and helplessness in the moment. "Someone hurt him. I don't know much more than that. None of us do... but... but he's on his way to the hospital now and-"

Regis was quiet for what seemed like forever after that, but when he finally spoke, his voice was shaky. "I'll be right there. Are you on your way to the hospital right now?"

"Yeah," Prompto answered. "Aranea's driving."

To that, Regis hummed an affirmative answer, and he could hear the rustling of movement over the phone. "Clarus and I will be there momentarily, Prompto. Just try to stay calm and call me to let me know if..." He paused, taking a shaky breath, "if anything happens. Okay?" A couple of seconds later, after a quick goodbye, they hung up the phone.

Prompto leaned his head back against the headrest, worry pushing tears up from his throat to his eyes. He turned to look out the window as they pulled into the hospital, blinking back the heat behind his eyes. On his right shoulder, he felt a gentle squeeze, and he turned to see Aranea looking at him in an attempt concerned comfort. He pressed his lips together, running his teeth over his lower lip and nodding a nod, the meaning of which he was unsure, to Aranea.

For the most part, Prompto managed to keep it together. There were moments when the tears would choke him. Like when the doctors and nurses told him that he couldn't go in and see Noctis because he wasn't family. Boyfriend didn't hold proper sway. He choked on his tears at those words, and felt some of them escaping from his eyes. Aranea had been forced to drag him—or, more appropriately, herself—away from the nurse's station before she made a scene and told them how stupid that policy was. Once again, emotion smacked him in the face like a sharp hand when Iris, Gladio, and Ignis came up from the lower levels of the hospital and surrounded him. Iris hugged him tightly for a moment, before moving to settle against Aranea.

Awareness of the conversations around him faded in and out. Ignis asked Aranea what she'd seen when she got back to the apartment. Gladio asked if anyone had called Regis. Iris asked if Aranea was okay, and then asked Prompto, who answered with a nod. But the fact that Iris' face was obstructed by a wall of moisture likely belied his words.

"I just... want to see him," Prompto strangled. "Need. Need to..."

Regis rushed into the waiting room in that moment, looking at the group of them with a serious expression. "They've not let you into the room yet?" he asked in disapproving annoyance.

Ignis' response was equally annoyed, but in a slightly quieter way. "We've been deemed not family. Evidently, our declaration from when we were hospitalized isn't word enough for them," he sneered. "We've all taken turns trying to convince them, but..."

With a scowl, Regis glanced at the nurse's station. "Give me a moment," he told them. "Clarus, would you mind accompanying me?" He didn't even wait for an answer, just turned and stormed toward the nurse's station, trusting—correctly trusting—that Clarus would follow him.

Prompto heaved a heavy sigh, glancing around the hospital. Would this be like all of the times that Noctis had been here waiting for someone, when Ardyn would show up and taunt them with some kind of not-information about his involvement in everything? Would he dare, with Noctis' dad in the room? Clarus would likely level him. Prompto may not have known the man as well as he knew Regis, but he also couldn't imagine that a man calling himself Gladio's father would suffer Ardyn's presence for any extent of time.

It ended up not mattering much, because before long, Clarus came back to collect the group. "Regis is having words with the nurses," he explained, the tiniest ghost of an amused grin sneaking through the concern. "I suspect that by the time he finishes, we'll all be allowed in the room."

Iris, Gladio, and Aranea all managed to grin at that—Ignis even managed to frown a little bit less—but Prompto couldn't. Not until he saw Noctis with his own eyes. Not until he confirmed that his boyfriend was alive and breathing. He walked alongside his friends, staring dumbly ahead of him, and was taken completely off guard when Regis wrapped an arm around his shoulders and hugged him close. He turned to look at the man, obviously surprised. The hug felt similar but different to Noctis' embrace. Admittedly, though, it was a comfort in the moment. He felt a little bit better, at first.

That was, until Clarus opened the door to let them into the hospital room and stepped out of the way. Prompto looked at Noctis and tried to freeze in place. The only thing keeping him moving was Regis' arm around his shoulders. But Noctis... granted he didn't look as bad as Ignis had when he'd been here, he still looked awful. His shoulder was in a sling, his hip was supported by a pair of pillows, his arms were wrapped with gauze, and his face... god, his face. Several small cuts littered his skin, but there was one large one that spanned about an inch long, right along his jaw.

Before Prompto realized it, he was right next to Noctis on the bed. Slowly, tentatively, he reached out to touch Noctis' hand.

However much Prompto had wanted to see him and confirm he was alive, the beeps that the varying monitors and screens gave off weren't the confirmation he was looking for. Still, at Regis' urging, he took a seat in the chair next to Noctis' bed, and watched as Regis turned around to ask Aranea about the situation when she'd found Noctis. He zoned her answer out, moving the chair up to the head of Noctis' bed and placing a hand against his hand. "It's alright, Hero," he murmured, brushing a couple of stray pieces of hair from Noctis' face. "I'm here, and if they want me to leave, they're gonna have to drag me away."

He swallowed nervously, moving Noctis' hand against the bed and twining their fingers together. His skin felt much the same. Warm. Gentle and soft. And... squeezing? Whether it was the voices in the room or the touch of Prompto's hand against his that awoke Noctis, he definitely felt Noctis' fingers twitch against his. A soft groan followed shortly thereafter, which grabbed the attention of everyone in the room. In an instant, Iris was on her feet and running for the door to collect the nurse.

"It's okay, Hero," Prompto insisted, trying to provide a calming voice. "It's okay. We're here. We're all here."

At first, Noctis only stirred a little bit. But then, his eyes sprang open and he glanced around the room. "A-Ardyn," he murmured. "Where... where'd he..." The words were stumbled and quiet, uncertain and scared. Not the type of words that Prompto had gotten used to Noctis using. But in this situation, it made perfect sense.

It also clarified that Ardyn had something to do with this. But Prompto pushed that away as a little less than important right now. Later. They could deal with that one later. "Ardyn's not here, Hero," Prompto promised.

Regis was at the other side of Noctis' bed, with Clarus at his side. Aranea, Gladio, and Ignis stayed seated on the other side of the room, Ignis straining against his sunglasses to get _any_ kind of picture of what was happening in the room. That was, until Gladio leaned over and started to explain it to him.

"Dad? Uncle Clarus? Prompto?" Noctis muttered, looking from one side of the bed to the other. "I..."

With a shake of his head, Regis placed his hand lightly on Noctis' cheek. "Don't worry, my son. Nothing will hurt you here." Noctis winced just slightly against the touch, but then looked up at his father with wide eyes... that instantly filled with tears. The sight of Noctis, who was almost always a pillar of strength for him, welling up and absolutely terrified like this, made Prompto's own wall crack a bit, too. Not that his was terribly strong to begin with.

Clarus looked at Noctis, then over his shoulder at Ignis and Gladio—who still looked pretty rough from everything they'd been through, too—and his fists clenched at his sides as he turned on his heel and swept out of the room. Prompto wondered exactly what he was planning to do—as did Regis it seemed, if the way he glanced over his shoulder in concern meant anything—but neither of them moved from Noctis' side.

The nurse rushed into the room then—without Iris, Prompto noted—and he just barely moved back, but didn't move his hand from Noctis' at all. If they wanted Prompto to move, they would have to forcibly tear him away.


	28. Dizzy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _i'm drowning in your dizzy noise,  
>  i wanna feel you scream.  
> everything you are falls from the sky like a star._  
> [dizzy](https://open.spotify.com/track/7m6uyBC8LnIL8M3ceDHqM1) \- the goo goo dolls

After all this time, the police were finally able to help. Officer Dave and Detective Holly—Noctis couldn't remember their last names for the life of him, but they kept insisting that he just call them by their first names, so that was fine—seemed far more willing to believe Noctis than he'd ever expected for them to be. When Noctis had recounted the story—everything that Ardyn had said, everything that he'd done, all the way back to Niflheim—they actually wrote it all down, took his word as it was. Honestly, it was frustrating. Ignis and Gladio had tried the police several times, and each time they spoke to people who refused to listen. Decried their words as silly and made them leave without any help. But Holly and Dave... they listened to Noctis' whole story and made a promise to go talk to Ardyn.

Still, he was a bit apprehensive. What would happen next? What would Ardyn tell them? Would the bits of hair and blood they'd pulled from his nails be enough to put him in jail? The cops had been gone for a few hours now, and so had most everyone else. Clarus, Prompto, and his dad were the only ones who stayed behind. Noctis had tried to convince Prompto to go home with the rest of their friends, but he'd refused. Regis, too, had insisted that Prompto be allowed to stay with him.

Right now, though, Prompto and Clarus had gone down to the cafeteria to gather lunch and coffee for everyone, so Noctis was alone with his dad. He glanced over at where his dad stared out the window, at the lightly falling snow outside. Sometimes, this still seemed surreal to him. Just months ago, Noctis hadn't been able to talk to his dad without being pushed into an emotional corner. Now, his father was looking at him like he was the only thing in the world that mattered. All thanks to Prompto. That thought made him puff out a breath of silent breath of laughter, then turn his eyes back to glance at his dad.

"Dad, aren't you tired?" he asked. "You were here until midnight last night, and then came back at six this morning."

But Regis shook his head no. "Don't worry about me, Noctis. If you think there's anywhere else in the world that I'd rather be right now, you're sorely mistaken." He turned around, lowering himself into the chair next to Noctis' bed and relaxing a little bit. "I've got Cor and Weskham handling all of my work affairs right now, and they know how to get in touch with me if they need to. I'd much rather be here, ensuring that nothing else happens to you kids."

That made Noctis smile in spite of himself. "Okay," he mused. "You know... I'm glad..." Pausing, he pressed his lips together, then winced when the motion tugged at the skin below his lip. "I'm, uh... I'm glad we're talking now. That I, y'know, know you don't hate me." He felt heat rising to his cheeks as he spoke.

Regis laughed a humorless note. "Indeed. We both owe Prompto a rather large debt of gratitude, I think," he mused.

The thought of his boyfriend made Noctis' smile a little bit more genuine. "He's... he's pretty amazing," he agreed. His eyes moved to glance at his dad, and he adjusted his position slightly on the bed so that he was leaning against his pillows a little more. It hurt. It hurt like _hell_ , honestly. His ribs and his hip screamed in protest of the motion, and he let out a hissing breath. He pondered pressing the morphine button, but opted not to because he didn't want to be foggy and say something stupid. When his dad moved to help him, Noctis waved him off and settled back in against the pillows. "I'm fine, dad."

Settling back into the chair, Regis glanced down at the floor. His face, usually trained so well to be neutral and calm, was surprisingly emotion-lined right now. "You're sure?" It was barely a question, honestly. The only indication that it was a question was a very slight upward inflection at the end of the second word.

Noctis dashed his tongue out and wet his lips in response. He was as okay as he could be, physically. He hurt. He ached all over his back every time his cuts brushed up against the bed, or in his ribs whenever he moved, or in his shoulder whenever he tried to move his fingers. His hip throbbed whenever he tried to make himself comfortable on the bed. But honestly, the physical pain wasn't bothering him so much right now. Ever since he'd woken up, no matter what he was thinking about at any given time, his mind always wandered back to Prompto. When he looked at Prompto, even as his whole body ached, the world felt less hectic. Things felt less chaotic. He was less afraid.

His mind wandered back to what Ignis said, about how Gladio made him feel that way. About how Gladio made him feel like the world spun less and how with Gladio, everything felt crystal clear. Even now, when he saw the two of them... even now that Ignis couldn't see and that things would _never_ truly be crystal clear again, they still had that same relationship. That same unshakable faith and trust in each other. Was it possible, did it even make _sense_ , for him to feel that same kind of bond with Prompto after such a short amount of time? It felt like he did, but he was afraid that it was one-sided.

And did he want to bring it up to his father?

"Noctis?" his father questioned, arching his eyebrow upward and folding his hands in his lap. "Are you in pain?"

Noctis shook his head no, but grunted at the protest his shoulder gave when he did. "I mean... yeah. But this isn't about that." He laughed a halfhearted laugh, wincing a little bit at the inflation of his lungs.

Regis frowned and pointed at the morphine button. "Perhaps you should take some-"

"No. No, I'm... I don't... I want to be lucid when we talk about this." It was important. Not something he wanted to take lightly. He breathed in, to steel himself, then cringed at the pain that shot through him like a bullet when he did. Letting the breath out, he turned to look at his dad, his expression stone serious. "You like Prompto, right?" he asked.

The question seemed to have taken his father off guard, if the way his eyebrow was quirked was any indication. "Of course I do," he nodded. "He's a wonderful boy. And he's done wonderful things for you, too. What's this all about?" 

Somehow, though Noctis was nervous, he was willing to push through it. _This is important,_ he reminded himself, then blinked to steel his nerves and looked at his dad again. "And you think that... you know... he and I are good together? You like that, too, right?" He maneuvered his body just slightly to face his father, hissing a breath through his teeth at the feeling of his back sliding across the mattress and the movement jarring his shoulder.

Regis put a hand out to stop Noctis from moving. "Yes, of course I do," he answered, the concern not fading from his expression. "Noctis, please don't move around so much. You're agitating your lacerations and it can't be good for your shoulder."

Wetting his lips and ignoring the mild pain that went through his jaw when he moved the skin below them, Noctis shook his head. "I can't just stay in the same position. But... let me finish okay?" he spoke steadily. "I... I love Prompto, dad." That much was spoken with certainty. But despite the steady and certain tone, his next words showed exactly how nervous he felt. "Like... I love him so much that I feel like my heart is going to burst from my chest most days. I want to, you know... love him like this forever." He turned his eyes to the ceiling, nervousness replacing the confidence in his expression.

The smile on his dad's face then was surprising; the concern his expression had been holding making way for honest and true happiness. "That's good, Noctis. That's-"

But Noctis shook his head. "I don't think... I don't think you know what I'm saying, dad. I... I want..." He forced himself to keep his head turned toward his dad as he continued, not allowing any doubt into his tone. "I could have died. My whole life could have ended when... when this happened." He motioned with his uninjured hand to the rest of his body. "And now all I've been able to think is..."

Sighing a soft but painful sigh, Noctis continued before he could talk himself out of it. "Dad... I want to ask Prompto to marry me." It was the first time he'd said the words aloud, and they sounded strange coming from his throat, but he tried not to let it sway him too much. He still felt it. "And before you tell me that I'm crazy, I know we're young. But he's... he's everything, dad. I look at him and I see this life. A house in Alstor near the chocobo ranch." As he recalled Prompto's fantasy future, his lips curled into a smile. "With chocobos, you know? He's a photojournalist, I'm a musician..." He paused and trailed off, glancing at his dad apologetically. The whole 'not taking over' thing was still new, and he wasn't sure how okay his dad was with it, still. "I want to be with him, dad. I want to give him a happy life to make up for the miserable life he's had so far. I want to-"

"Good," Regis interjected.

"-I want to make him happy for the rest of his... what?" Noctis stopped sharply, blinking at his dad a couple of times.

Regis laughed a fond laugh. "Good," he repeated. At the surprised expression on Noctis' face, he chuckled fondly. "Son. There are many things in my life that I regret. My treatment of you these past twenty years. Not doing more about Niflheim." He paused and glanced at his hands. "I can't exactly say that I regret ending things with Clarus, because without that, neither of us would have the families we have. You wouldn't be in my life, Gladiolus and Iris wouldn't be in his life. That's clearly... that's not desirable." His expression changed then, darkened a bit, and he glanced at his reflection in the window beside him.

"Your mother has been dead for twelve years now," Regis sighed, turning to glance back at Noctis. "That means that there have been twelve years that I could have faced the truth and done exactly what I wanted to do. Looked at Clarus, told him that I..." He trailed off, shaking his head hard and glancing at his hands. "You may be young, but if you know what you want, then take it. You love Prompto. Prompto loves you. If you want to marry him, then marry him. Don't let yourself grow to wonder what could have happened."

Noctis simply blinked a couple of times, regarding his father in surprise as he spilled his guts out onto the floor. Ever since his dad had confessed to his past relationship with Uncle Clarus, Noctis had been left with a certain level of curiosity as to whether his father had ever moved on. He'd mentioned that _Uncle Clarus_ had never moved on, but had never really said anything about his own feelings on the matter. His dad had always been really, really good at keeping his own feelings under wraps, hidden under layers upon layers in his mind. But something about the expression on his face...

Maybe it was the honesty of the moment, but Noctis couldn't stop the question from bubbling over. "Dad?" he asked. Regis looked at him in silent acknowledgment, and he continued. "Do you still love Uncle Clarus?"

The lack of answer was almost more telling than the way that Regis turned to look at the foot of Noctis' bed. He pressed his lips together, and for the first time in Noctis' life, he was seeing his father as less than a completely put-together, closed-off, businessman whose emotions were locked in layers upon layers of boxes and chests.

"Dad?" Noctis asked again. As a child, his dad had always been able to get him to admit to anything by repeating the question he'd asked and giving him a specific look. Noctis wasn't sure he could mimic the look, but he _could_ persist about the question. "You can tell me. It's not like I'm going to turn around and tell Uncle Clarus or anything."

Regis laughed a humorless note. "Noctis, it's not as simple for us as it is for you. We've spent almost thirty years apart. Cultivated our own lives-"

"Which are still pretty linked," Noctis mused with a little smirk. "You're always together, dad. You never go anywhere without Uncle Clarus. Uncle Clarus is always the first one at your side when something happens. Even when we weren't close, I always knew that when I wanted to come and see you, I'd be seeing you _and_ Uncle Clarus."

His dad looked at the other wall, sheepishness crossing his face.

Noctis huffed a soft laugh outward. "It's not like you guys are a hundred, dad. And even if you were, who cares? All that matters is that you love him, right?" It was surreal, talking about this with his dad, but it wasn't like he was crazy or wrong or anything. His dad had never really admitted to anything, but he didn't necessarily need to, either.

Regis' expression drew together in seriousness then, wordlessly closing the topic for conversation. "This isn't about Clarus and I, Noctis. This is about you and Prompto. And yes. If you want to marry him, I absolutely think you should. And I'm more than happy to help you pay for the engagement ring and the whole wedding, if you want a big one." This was his way, Noctis assumed, of trying to ensure that the topic stayed away from his relationship with Uncle Clarus, and while Noctis understood, to a degree, he didn't want to let his father spring into overdrive over something that wasn't even an absolute yet.

As he breathed in to speak again, though, intending to tell his father exactly that, the air hit his lungs wrong and a jolt of pain shot its way through his ribs. He made an annoyed noise through his nose and groped for his morphine button with his uninjured hand. "Where's-"

His dad stood and handed him the button, watching in concern as he accepted it and pressed down on it. As soon as the liquid dropped through the tube and found its way into Noctis' veins, the door to his hospital room opened, and Clarus and Prompto returned with a couple of servings of what Noctis thought was _supposed_ to resemble macaroni and cheese and a chickatrice sandwich. The bread didn't really look like bread, and the macaroni looked like it was partially dry, but he supposed he should have expected no less from hospital food. And it was only then that he noticed the absence of pain. He hated relying on morphine like that, but he had to admit that it was effective.

"We're back, Hero. With some food. Kind of..." Prompto murmured as he glanced down at the macaroni and cheese.

Clarus laughed a hollow note in response. "Kind of, indeed. This macaroni and cheese looks as though it's been scraped from a tub of radioactive waste."

Prompto laughed a little bit at that. "And the sandwich is about as dry as I've ever seen in my life. Looks like you could use it to mop up a spill," he mused.

When he looked around the room again, Prompto was at his side, setting the food on the table and his dad was looking at the disgusting meal in front of him like it was the worst thing he'd ever seen. He turned to look at Clarus incredulously, an eyebrow raised in silent communication, and Clarus responded with a one-shouldered shrug. Regis shook his head, set the 'food' on Noctis' bedside table, and placed a hand on Prompto's shoulder.

"We're not eating this," he insisted, gathering his coat from the back of his chair. "Clarus, come with me, would you? We'll go to that sushi place on the corner and get some actual food."

To that, Clarus laughed a fond laugh and looked at Noctis. "Do you have your father's picky eating habits, Noctis? I seem to remember that in his youth, Weskham and Cor always tried to convince him to eat what was put in front of him. For the most part, he's grown out of it, but times like this, I-"

"That's quite enough, Clarus," Regis responded with an exasperated huff. "Prompto, what kind of sushi do you prefer?"

Something about the way Prompto told Regis his sushi preference was suddenly absolutely _hilarious_ to Noctis, and as the pleasant haze of the morphine started settling in over his body, he started giggling a soft giggle at the term 'salmon rolls.' In his drug-addled mind, he pictured salmon rolling around in rice and kelp, and he lifted his uninjured arm to cover his mouth and stifle his laughter. Prompto blinked at him a couple of times, turned to look at Regis and Clarus as they retreated from the room, then turned back at Noctis in concern.

He pulled the chair Regis had been sitting in up to the headboard of Noctis' bed, put the 'food' in the trash and leaned his elbows against Noctis' bed. "Salmon rolls that amusing to you?"

"Mmhmm," Noctis murmured, lazily using his good hand to mimic salmon swimming upstream. "Salmon _jumping_ into rice and rolling around. Then rolling in kelp and rolling right onto your plate." He giggled a couple more soft notes of laughter, then sought out Prompto's hand.

Prompto chuckled softly and linked his fingers around Noctis'. "Not sure I want to eat it if it's just been rolling around, but I guess if I'm hungry enough, I could probably be convinced." He smoothed his thumb along Noctis' hand.

Noctis smirked. "You've got the cutest smile," he garbled.

The smile on Prompto's face wilted just slightly, replaced with the tiniest bit of concern as he reached up to swipe some hair from Noctis' face. "Glad you think so," he mused, placing his other hand on top of Noctis' that he'd been holding.

Nodding, Noctis closed his fingers a little tighter around Prompto's. "I was just telling my dad how amazing you are. That you're the best thing that's _ever_ happened to me." His voice, his words, were a little bit more theatrical in his morphine-induced haze, but at the moment, he didn't care. "That I wanna be with you for the rest of our lives."

Prompto smirked and nodded at that, the concern still in his eyes but his lips quirked into a smile that was equal parts shy and happy. "What'd your dad say about that?" he asked.

Laughing a soft laugh, Noctis disentangled his hand from Prompto's, grabbing hold of his left ring finger and wiggling it. "I asked him if I should ask you to marry me," he singsonged, moving Prompto's ring finger to an imaginary beat that went with the song he'd been creating. "And he thinks it's a good idea."

"Huh...?" Prompto gasped in response. "You... wh... marry me?" His words were astonished croaks, and his eyes were as wide as Noctis had ever seen them before.

Noctis nodded eagerly. "Mmhmm! You and me, Blondie. Hitched. Rings on fingers and walking down the aisle and all that stuff!"

For a few moments, Prompto did nothing but blink at Noctis, gauging his face in some kind of confusion-curiosity hybrid. Finally, when it looked like his mind caught up with the rest of him, he said, "well, I'll tell you what. If you still feel that way when that morphine wears off, we can talk about it." He raked his teeth over his lip and then pressed both lips tight together.

"Promise?" Noctis asked, a loving smile crossing his face.

Prompto nodded. "I promise," he answered. "But for now, I think you should get some rest. 'Cause I'm pretty sure that morphine is working overtime. I'll text your dad and make sure he knows to get you something that you can still eat when you wake up."

Noctis nodded his head. "'Kay," he responded, nestling into bed and wrapping his fingers in Prompto's. "Blondie?" As he spoke, he still closed his eyes to let the morphine take over and rest a bit.

"What's up, Hero?" Prompto asked.

A smile settled on Noctis' lips as he murmured, "love you."

The last thing Noctis remembered hearing before he blinked off into sleep was Prompto's soft murmur of, "Love you, too."


	29. I Got You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _it's funny how life can take new meaning;_  
>  when you came and changed what i believe in.  
> the world on the outside's trying to pull me in,  
> but they can't touch me, 'cause i got you...  
> [i got you](https://open.spotify.com/track/7tUKiBTu5VUSWpsFMrYlVx) \- nick carter

As it turned out, Noctis very clearly remembered what he said when he woke up from his morphine-induced nap. If Prompto did, though, he didn't say anything. Not once. Not even a single time, over the whole course of the next week that he was in the hospital. At first, Noctis had been terrified. Scared beyond reason that everything would be ruined. That Prompto wasn't interested in the idea and that he'd put distance between them, back away and slowly close the door on their relationship. But that hadn't happened. Not at all, really. Things were... the same. Things _stayed_ the same.

The only thing that was really different was the fact that sometimes, in the quiet, Noctis would catch Prompto watching him, examining his face. It was almost an anticipatory examination, like he was urging; questioning without speaking. There was, maybe, the slightest bit of awareness as far as Noctis was concerned. He was wondering if Noctis was going to continue that conversation.

And he wanted to. He _really_ wanted to. In fact, he'd tried no fewer than a dozen times to do it. But he inevitably stopped himself every single time. Between embarrassment in regards to how he'd just blurted it out before, and the fact that Prompto's surprised reaction was a little bit nerve-wracking, now that he was aware and able to think about it... he was scared. Scared, in love, wanting desperately to be brave _without_ morphine but hesitating every time. There had never really been any indication of rejection or favor or anything, which only served to make it all the more nerve-wracking.

It was the start of the second week of Noctis being in the hospital. He'd heard them saying that they weren't going to keep him for much longer. That he could go home by the end of the week, and that most of what needed to be done in regards to his recovery could be done from the apartment, as long as he stayed in bed. Staying in bed was not an issue for Noctis, honestly. Especially if, at home, Prompto was as at-his-side as he was here.

Pressing his lips together, he glanced at Prompto, who was giving that expectant-gaze again. Maybe he was fooling himself, in that it _almost_ looked... hopeful. Wishing. Like he _wanted_ Noctis to break the ice and broach the subject that they'd—or, more specifically, _he'd_ —been so adamantly avoiding. He eyed his boyfriend's face, before dashing his tongue out to wet his lips. Swallowing his nerves, he turned his whole head toward Prompto with what he hoped was a secure smile, before reaching out with his uninjured arm in silent request of his boyfriend's hand.

Prompto responded quickly by leaning forward and capturing his hand, his lips quirking into a gentle smile. "What's up, Hero?" he asked, smoothing his thumb lightly over his skin and leaning down to press his lips to Noctis' knuckles.

The gesture made Noctis grin a little bit wider, and he shrugged his head to the side, wincing a bit when the motion tugged on his shoulder muscles unpleasantly. Blinking hard, he glanced down at their entwined hands, then back up at Prompto's face. "Do you, you know, ever think about that conversation we had the other day?"

His meaning could have been any number of conversations, of course. It wasn't like they wanted for conversation most days. Prompto told stories about his life before he met the group; about how he'd spent a long, long time living in Lestallum, and how he'd picked his camera up on a whim one day, before discovering his knack for it. They talked about shows that came on the TV in his hospital room—silly cartoons that they were initially going to flip past, but then ended up lingering on and laughing at for as long as Noctis' sore ribs would allow him to—and cultivated little amusing inside jokes involving them. Sometimes, when his dad and Uncle Clarus were there, it would cause them to give odd looks, before deciding to excuse themselves. Iris and Aranea would demand to know what they meant, while Gladio and Ignis would pretend to be unamused, but there were always ghosts of smiles on their faces.

Really, all it served to do was drive the point home of exactly how in love Noctis was with Prompto. And when those moments came and no one else was in the room, those were the times when he almost brought the marriage conversation up again. Now, without any special provocation or prodding from outside sources or morphine, Noctis decided that it was a good time. Only, his nerves were trying to convince him otherwise.

The surprised blink and eager nod that Prompto gave in response caught him off guard. "You, um... you mean the one when you'd just taken morphine? When your dad and Mr. Amicitia went to get the sushi?" he asked. Saying it without saying it; likely protecting himself just in case Noctis wasn't talking about the same thing as he was.

Noctis nodded, though. "Yeah," he admitted. "That one." He could feel the heat rising to his cheeks, and tried to will it away before they started turning red.

Much to his surprise, Prompto reached up and smoothed the backs of his fingers against Noctis' skin. "I do," he admitted. The words 'I do' in this context were very, very surprising. Pleasant, though. And the pink that rose to Prompto's cheeks after the realization of his word choice dawned on him showed that he saw that, too. He cleared his throat in embarrassment. "Th-think, I mean. I do think about it. The... the _conversation_ , I mean! I think about the conversation and..."

It was shameful, how adorable the visage of his boyfriend's embarrassment was. Noctis' cheeks were still warm, but he shifted just slightly on the bed, trying to ignore the pain that the motion shot through his back and his hip. He couldn't help a little wince, but he tried to play it off, and stopped Prompto when he reached for the morphine button. He didn't want it right now. This time, he wanted to be coherent when he said it.

As Prompto settled back in, his cheeks still pink with a lingering blush, Noctis couldn't help but smile again, his pain momentarily less important than that pink bringing out the dusting of freckles on Prompto's face. "You're always so cute when you blush," he intimated.

"Shut up," Prompto mumbled, his cheeks flushing even redder, concern fading into a tiny little grin on his lips. "So... the conversation... I do think about it. A... a lot. All the time," he confessed, worrying his lip in his mouth.

All the time. He thought about it all the time. Noctis had, in a morphine-induced haze, dropped a bomb like the plan for a marriage proposal on Prompto. He hadn't said anything for a week, and Prompto thought about it _all the time_. "Why didn't you ever say anything? Ask about it, I mean?" Noctis questioned.

Ticking one shoulder up in a shrug, Prompto looked at the ugly blue patterned blanket that draped over Noctis. "Because you were out of your head when you said it," he chuckled softly. "I mean, Noctis. You laughed for like, fifteen minutes at the concept of salmon rolling in stuff to make them into sushi. As cute as it was-" He paused to peer up at Noctis through his lashes- "it was like... your mind was so dizzy from the morphine that... how could I hold you to anything you said that day?"

Noctis frowned. "Oh."

Not what he wanted to say, not really. He wanted to ask Prompto if, in the time they'd known each other, Noctis had ever really been anything less than honest with him. He wanted to point out what the nurse had told him, that morphine _did_ confuse the mind, but his injuries weren't bad enough to make him forget what he'd said while he was on it. But none of those words were finding their way to the surface right now. Instead, he breathed a nervous sigh—wincing at the protest his ribs gave—and swallowed nervousness down as best he could. Daring himself, he spoke up again.

"What, um... what if I told you that... you know, it wasn't-"

Before he could finish what he was saying, the sound of knocking coming from the door on the other side of the room jumped him from his thought process. He jerked his head toward the door, then groaned at the pain that surged through his shoulder at the sharp motion. Annoyance and ache warred for dominance in his mind, but he turned his head to glance at the door. "Come in," he grunted.

Officer Dave greeted Noctis and Prompto with a nod and a tip of his police cap, then stepped out of the door to let Detective Holly into the room. "Howdy, boys," he greeted. "Your father not here?"

Noctis shook his head no. "He went back to the hotel a little bit ago. I told him to get some actual sleep in an actual bed, 'cause sleeping in the chair was gonna give him a major neck problem." It had taken Uncle Clarus practically dragging him out the door to make him listen, but eventually he had. "What's up?" He didn't need his dad's permission to talk about things, anyway. He was an adult.

Holly seemed to catch on to that, and she chuckled a bit, nudging Dave with her shoulder. "Well, we have Dean Izunia in custody-"

"Really?" Prompto asked, violet-blue eyes wide with hope, as he sat up a little straighter. His grip on Noctis' hand tightened just slightly.

It occurred to Noctis in that moment that, for however long the others had been dealing with Ardyn, Prompto had been dealing with him longer. Directly, since his own stint in the hospital. Indirectly, for his whole life. However strong a relief this was to him—and it was; his injuries constantly reminded him of how close he came to dying that day, after all—it must have been even stronger for Prompto. The thought made him smile a little bit wider, as he turned to glance back at Dave and Holly, who regarded the pair of them with smiles that showed that the rest of the news was as good as the start of it.

Dave nodded his head. "Really," he answered. "We matched the hair and blood that Noctis got from him, and that was enough to arrest him and question him. His lawyer tried to push for him to be released, since it was just an assault-" he looked at Noctis apologetically- "but Judge Elshett refused. She heard tell of what your two friends there—Scientia and Amicitia, I think?—tried to report." He shook his head and frowned.

To that, Holly nodded. The pair of them had expressed shame at their department's inaction to Ignis and Gladio's claims. "She deemed him too much of a danger. And your old man seemed really, _really_ determined to agree with her," she explained. "So, they're holding him in county lockup until she can schedule a trial."

Prompto blinked a couple of times. "So... does this mean it's finally, you know... over?" he asked.

The smile on Dave's face wilted a bit at that. "Not exactly," he explained. "At the very least, we'll be able to put him up on charges for what he did to Noctis. But... the rest of it? What he did to your friends and what you suspect he did to you? We'll need some pretty hard evidence linking him to the Alliance to charge him for the other things." His tone was dismal. "Your old man is still looking into the stuff in Niflheim, which could put him away for a real long time, but..."

"But unless he finds something," Holly interjected, "he'll likely only be in prison for less than a year."

Eyes wide, Prompto shook his head no. "But he's... he's almost _killed_ people! He told Noct that he _did_ kill my mom! S-so... less than a _year_? That's... that's not fair!" He released Noctis' hand and stood from his seat.

Holly frowned. "I know, kid. The problem is, all we have to go on there is word of mouth. All we need to make the sentence longer is _anything_ to tie him to Niflheim. We just have to hope that Noctis' dad can find something in his records," she explained, her frown deepening just slightly.

"My dad will find something, Prompto. He has... he has his best people on it. Cor and Weskham won't stop until they find it. They won't." Noctis paused and frowned. It was just a matter of finding it _before_ the trial. While there was no date determined, it was still nerve-wracking. Worrisome. The possibility that, after everything, when they finally found their answer, it would only put the man in jail for less than a year was terrifying.

Prompto, too, was staring blankly at Noctis' blankets again. Noctis recognized the expression. It was the one he'd worn at the hospital, after Ardyn had delivered the folder. The one he always wore when he thought about Niflheim. His hand rested on the leather wristband that he wore over the brand they'd given him, and that further drove the point home. Of course he was thinking about it. It would always be there, probably; for the rest of his life. Anger etched its way into Noctis' features again, and he shook his head in frustration as he turned to Holly and Dave.

Breathing a sigh, he asked, "is there anything I can do to ensure that he-"

"It's okay," Prompto reassured him, seeking his hand out again and lacing their fingers together. "You just have to worry about getting better, okay?" Embarrassment flooded its way onto his face and he raked his teeth over his lip in a wordless apology. When they left, Noctis would have to tell him that he had absolutely nothing to apologize for.

Holly nodded her head. "Exactly," she told Noctis with a smile. "If there's evidence out there, it'll be found."

It wasn't enough. Not even close. But for now, it would have to do. He turned and looked at Holly and Dave, breathing a sigh and adjusting his position on the bed. His frustration outweighed his pain, even though it was very much still ever present. "But if there's anything I can do to help, any information I can give, then..." He didn't need to finish the sentence. Holly and Dave understood.

And because of that, it was no surprise that they agreed. They asked Noctis where his father was staying while he was in town, then dismissed themselves with a promise that they would do whatever they could to get to the truth of the situation. It wasn't a promise to lock Ardyn away for life, but he knew that legally, they weren't allowed to do that. And that promise was easily visible between the lines of their words. When they excused themselves, the nurse came into the room to check Noctis' bandages. It turned out that they needed changing, so that was more time that he and Prompto couldn't be alone to talk, more time spent watching Prompto stare sadly and guiltily at him as the nurse unwrapped the bandages on his back and arms. After cleaning and tending the wounds, she rewrapped the bandages and then left.

It took too long. Too long and too much subtlety to convince her to leave them in privacy. She was one of the less kind nurses; one of the ones who thought that it was unnecessary for Prompto to stay with him all the time. He'd heard her saying how gross she thought they were. His dad made sure, of course, that she kept her nose out of their business. All of the less desirable nurses had gotten that warning, so most of the time, those nurses left Noctis alone. They just always seemed to come in at less than opportune moments.

He turned to look at Prompto now that they were alone, reaching his good arm out and wiggling his fingers to ask for his hand. "It'll be okay. You know that, right?" he asked his boyfriend with a weak smile. He wasn't sure how truthful he was being, of course. There was always the chance that it _wouldn't_ be okay. That Ardyn would find his way out of this in the same way he'd found a way to torment them for the whole semester so far. But he tried, as hard as he could, to keep his chin up so that Prompto could do the same.

Prompto breathed a soft sigh and smiled weakly. "It's not even... it's not even my situation that makes me mad." He paused, then breathed a bitter laugh, smoothing his free hand through his unkempt hair. "Well, okay. It is. It makes me _really_ mad. I was hoping that somehow my mom would be able to get justice after all this time, you know? It's more than just that, though. It's Ignis and Gladio and Iris and Aranea. And _you_. Will we ever feel safe again if he's only in jail for a year? If your dad's friends can't find evidence..."

Noctis' lips drew down even further. "Hey," he started, shaking his head and adjusting himself on the bed again, then hissing when a shot of pain ripped through his shoulder and down to his fingertips.

"Don't... don't strain so much, okay?" Prompto encouraged, standing up and placing a hand gently on Noctis' good shoulder to keep him in place. "Just-" He grabbed the morphine button and passed it to Noctis.

But Noctis shook his head no, setting the button back on his bed. "Cor and Weskham will find something, Blondie. They will, okay? They're determined. They've never let my dad down before, and they won't start now. Not when it matters more than anything." Was that a bit selfish? Maybe. But he knew that his dad felt the same.

With a sigh, Prompto nodded his head and stared at their knotted fingers. "I... you're right. You're right... it's just... this is my fault, Hero. He would've left us alone if-"

Noctis interrupted him with a squeeze of his hand which brought Prompto's attention back to his face. "He's been following my family for years, Prompto. It's not your fault," he insisted. "It's mine, if anyone is to blame. Because you got involved with me, your whole life got dragged out into the open and displayed for everyone to see. I wouldn't... I wouldn't blame you if you decided you were done with me." He laughed a humorless laugh, darting his eyes away from Prompto's and looking down at the foot of his bed.

It seemed like Prompto was having none of that, though. He stood, shaking his head no and leaning over Noctis' bed. "No," he insisted, pressing his lips to Noctis' in a gentle kiss. "Not even close."

"But-"

Prompto smoothed his fingertips down Noctis' cheek, avoiding the cut on his jaw and letting his fingertips glide across his lower lip. "You're the first person I've ever told about me. About my life," he pointed out. "The first person I've ever not wanted to run away from after it was found out. I love you, Noctis, okay?" The lack of a nickname caught his attention, and the sincerity in his eyes was almost _flooring_ to Noctis. "I love you and I trust you. Literally nothing short of _you_ deciding you were done with _me_ would make me not want to be with you."

Blinking a couple of times, Noctis felt a smile quirk across his face. "I meant what I said the other day, you know," he commented, in lieu of a formal reassurance about their relationship. He reached his hand up and placed it on Prompto's bicep, pulling him toward the bed.

Surprise etched its way across Prompto's features as he looked at Noctis in question. "About...?" he asked.

Another tug had Prompto sitting on the bed. Noctis pulled again, until he was laying sideways on the bed, and encouraged him to rest his head against Noctis' shoulder. Prompto looked unsure, but Noctis reassured him with a nod and a half-smile that it was okay. Swallowing nervousness, Noctis finally answered, "I do want to marry you..." in a soft, shy whisper.

Tilting his head to look up at Noctis, Prompto made himself a little more comfortable and asked, "is that your way of-"

"No." Noctis croaked. "I mean... not yet. I want to do it right, you know? Special. With a ring. Not... not here. Not in the hospital. But... but I want to. I want to be with you for the rest of our lives. I know it's early. I know we haven't been together for long or anything. But when I look at you, I see..."

Prompto cut him off with a gentle kiss to his lips, smirking when the brief contact broke. "Everything. Everything that matters, anyway," he answered.

A half-smile quirked across Noctis' face and he nodded his head. "Exactly."

"Me too," Prompto answered, his smile soft and sweet; gentle and loving. It was the same smile that Noctis had always gotten used to, but different. There was a little bit more certainty there now. "So... if we're not engaged now, then what are we?"

It wasn't an answer. Not really. But that was okay. Perfect, even; because Noctis' words weren't really a question. But at least he kind of knew where Prompto stood now. Smoothing his hand up and down Prompto's arm, he glanced at the ugly white cottage cheese ceiling, pondering the question carefully. They'd been a couple before. They'd been in love for longer than that. Going steady was too pathetic. Too malt-shop, drive-in, cheesy movie. So, what else was there to really be?

With a soft laugh, Noctis quipped, "pre-engaged?" winking once Prompto turned his head to meet his eyes.

"Pre-engaged," Prompto laughed softly, then nodded his head, burying his face in Noctis' shoulder. "I like that. It's perfect."


	30. Got It Good

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _got a soul, got a mind, got a heart that beats in time._  
>  _you've got a smile, got a voice, got the gift of love._  
>  _you've got it good, don't forget how lucky you are._  
> [got it good](https://open.spotify.com/track/3IxlaYp8EtGatMr0oVJHrb) \- jem

The trial finally had a date. Judge Elshett had set it for the end of March, merely five days before Ignis and Gladio's wedding—they were lucky, actually, because the nearest day available aside from that was right _on_ the date that Ignis and Gladio had picked. If not then, they would have to let Ardyn go because the next available day was past when they were legally allowed to detain him—and then, hopefully, everything Ardyn had put them through would be over. Cor and Weskham had filtered through all of Noctis' dad's old documents, and Noctis was surprised when, a couple of nights ago, he received a call from Weskham, asking to speak to Prompto.

It turned out that they'd found an old hand-written journal, documenting the day-to-day life of an imperial chancellor, by the name of Ardyn Izunia. He didn't give many details, but Prompto had mentioned that he'd wanted to ask permission to use it during the trail, because it mentioned many parts of Prompto's past. Prompto had bravely and readily given permission, too. Even with the journal, though, they continued digging. Just on the off chance that it wasn't enough. Additionally, it seemed like good things in life came in droves. The interim Dean, a woman who went solely by the name of Gentiana, had sworn to Regis that she would scour the campus for anyone in the Alliance and that she would hand them over to the police until they got answers as to who had put them up to attacking Ignis and Gladio.

Ardyn wasn't going to get away with anything. That was the impression that he was starting to get, and he had to _hope_ that he wasn't wrong this time. He had to hold onto the tiniest bit of hope that the universe was on their side.

Enhancing his mood even further was the fact that spring was finally starting to break through the snow. Little patches of mud and snow-flattened grass were starting to show here and there, in that typical start-of-March way. Noctis was happy to discard the big, fluffy, winter coat in favor of lighter spring clothing, both because wearing puffy winter coats reduced his range of movement and because it meant that he could break out his hoodies again. Prompto had adopted many of his favorite hoodies—two of the AFI ones that he'd worn to various tears and holes, and several of the plain black ones that he'd had for years—but he still had some that he'd managed to keep from his boyfriend's grasp.

The right arm of the charcoal gray hoodie hung down limp, because his sling was still annoyingly present, and was presently annoying the _hell_ out of him. Every day, Noctis walked with longer and stronger step. He still had to wear a sling, and likely would for a few more months. Not to mention the fact that beneath his hoodie and his t-shirt, the bandages wrapping his ribs made their presence annoyingly known every time he moved a little bit.

Today, though, his mind was distracted enough for it not to matter. He was out with Ignis—who, true to his word, had determined not to let the reduced vision slow him down and was getting around with the help of a walking crutch in one hand and a long cane in the other—and Iris, wandering the mall and picking Ignis a tux for his wedding. They probably looked a sight to outsiders, Noctis with one hoodie sleeve hanging down like he was missing one arm, and Ignis limping and feeling around when his one half-sighted eye couldn't get a clear picture.

Iris was completely fine, of course, and she was endlessly eager as she rushed around the men's wedding boutique and looked at all of the different tuxes. Prior to their accident, Ignis and Gladio had agreed to a green and white wedding—Iris had pointed out that the green would match Ignis' eyes—but since the accident had taken away the pigmentation of Ignis' eyes as well as most of his sight, they weren't green anymore. At first, Gladio had said that Ignis was devastated by this. _"Don't tell him I told you, but he was really damn crushed. He wanted green and white."_ Iris had suggested, though, that silver was just as pretty. And that silver, black, and white would be a very classy color scheme for a wedding.

Plus, she'd said, "Iggy will look _totally_ handsome in that silver vest and tie under a white coat! Top it off with a silver pocket square and rose, and some black pants and Gladdy won't be able to take his eyes off of you!" She clapped excitedly, then rushed over to the section with the silver vests.

Ignis laughed a fond laugh, before slowly lowering himself onto a bench near a rack of ties. He craned his neck, trying to get a good look at them, before reaching for a paisley silver one and holding it close to his face, but still straining to see it. Noctis' lips drew into a frown, but he tried to mask it just as quickly as it appeared. "I like that one," he told his friend, walking slowly toward the bench and lowering himself next to Ignis.

"Paisley, isn't it?" Ignis responded quietly. "Gladio has always been fond of when I wear paisley."

Noctis nodded. "I think that's what it's called, anyway. The weird droplet looking things with the leafy bits hanging off of them?" He glanced at the other ties on display. When he finally proposed, he'd have to talk to Prompto about what they wanted their wedding to be like. Did they want pomp and ceremony? Fancy suits or casual dress? Imagining Prompto in one of these suits made a small, sheepish smile cross Noctis' face.

Stroking his thumb along the tie and nodding, Ignis craned his neck in an attempt to look around the shop for Iris. "Which direction did Iris go off in?" he asked, his voice very quiet and chagrined as he turned to glance at Noctis. The silver of his eyes beneath his sunglasses was slightly sad, embarrassed that he had to ask that question. He used to be acutely aware of everything visibly, Noctis knew that. But not anymore.

"That way," Noctis carefully directed toward Iris in the silver color-coded section. "I can get her for you, if you want."

Ignis shook his head no. "No, I'd like to go and get her myself," he insisted.

The answer didn't surprise Noctis at all. He did that increasingly often lately. When he accepted help, it was mostly from Gladio or Iris. Noctis less than those two, but more than the others. From time to time, and only when it was absolutely necessary, he accepted it from Aranea or Prompto. It wasn't that he didn't consider them family, Noctis knew that and he was sure that Aranea and Prompto did, too. But in all the time that Noctis had known Ignis, he'd always liked to present himself as a force all his own. Gladio and Iris were different; they very much represented the family that they would legally be at the beginning of April.

Doing things like going to get Iris on his own in the middle of a tuxedo store was Ignis' way of maintaining his independence; proving to Noctis that he was still perfectly capable of doing many of the things that he'd done before. And if he thought Noctis was going to argue with him on that, he was sorely mistaken.

When Noctis moved to stand up with him, Ignis turned his head and then shook it, flashing Noctis a combination between a secure smile and an insistent refusal. "I can go. Don't strain yourself, either."

There was a refusal behind Noctis' lips, too; a reminder that _Ignis_ , while healing really, really well from his surgery, was recovering from _leg_ surgery. Noctis' only problems were his ribs and his shoulder. But he didn't say anything. Dignity was important to Ignis, Noctis knew that. So, he simply nodded his head once—a motion obvious and extravagant enough for Ignis to see it without question—and stayed where he sat. He did, however, watch his friend as he retreated toward Iris. His step was a little slow, between the crutches and always needing to feel in front of him with the long cane, but he was getting there.

Now, though, Noctis was alone. He cast his eyes around the shop—smirking a little bit as he heard Iris squeal in excitement over the tie that Ignis had chosen—and then gingerly pushed himself into a standing position. Breathing a sigh, he stepped up toward the vacant counter. The woman behind it had moved toward the back room a little while ago, which left Noctis open to examine the brochures on the counter. Vacation brochures. Wedding villa brochures. He blinked twice, however, when his eyes fell upon a brochure for a local jeweler by the name of Dino Ghiranze.

Worrying his lower lip in his mouth, he pondered Prompto for a second. Pre-engaged meant that it was okay to look at things like this, right? He plucked one of the brochures from the rack and started to flip through it casually. Most of the rings in the brochure were for women. Several types of diamond, gold, and silver, all gaudy and not the type of thing that Noctis wanted to give to Prompto. The last couple of pages, though, looked like they were dedicated to men's rings. Noctis looked them over carefully. Some of them were gaudier than some of the women's rings, which made him chuckle a soft note. Prompto was excitable and outwardly affectionate, but he deserved better than some gaudy, multicolored, tacky metal.

None of these seemed right, and it made Noctis wonder how he was supposed to go about shopping for something like this.

He'd been so into looking at the brochure that he hadn't noticed Iris and Ignis approaching. Iris got up on her tiptoes and glanced over his uninjured shoulder. "Whatcha lookin' at, Noct?" she asked, stepping around him and staring intently at the page on Noctis' brochure for a second. "Rings. R-rings..." She repeated, before pulling in a slow but sharp breath and turning to look at Noctis. " _Rings?!_ " she exclaimed, snatching the brochure from his hand.

Noctis wanted to tell her that she was jumping to conclusions, but since she wasn't and he was a pretty bad liar, he didn't say anything. He just worried his lip between his teeth and raised his good shoulder in a shrug. His hand followed, scratching through his hair. Turning his eyes toward the ground, he just went sheepishly silent.

"Is Noct looking at rings?" Ignis asked.

Iris bounded over to Ignis and sat down next to him on the bench. "Mhm!" she exclaimed eagerly. "This is to Dino's Jewelry Gallery right across the hall from here." She pointed eagerly to the building on the other side of the mall's wide hall. Turning her laser pointed logic back at Noctis, she waved the brochure, then set it down on the bench beside her. "So, why were you looking at rings, Noct?"

It was a question with an obvious answer, but Noctis dashed his tongue out to wet his lips nervously. "Why do you think?" he asked in return.

Eyes widening, Iris shot off the bench and hurried up to Noctis. "Noct!" She hopped across the short distance between them and stopped in front of Noctis. Grabbing his good hand in both of hers, she nodded excitedly. "You're gonna propose to Prompto?! She squeaked. "Does he have any idea, or-"

"I mean..." Chuckling a soft laugh, Noctis nodded. "We talked about being pre-engaged in the hospital," he admitted. "I wanted to, you know... do it after the trial and everything. To celebrate if things went well or to make sure things didn't feel so hopeless if they didn't. Plus, it gives me time to do it right, you know? Either take him somewhere romantic or just have dinner at home. And pick the perfect ring for him. And..." Each word he said found his cheeks going redder and redder, and as soon as he realized that, he trailed off, shrugging his head to his shoulder and looking from Iris to Ignis.

Noctis was surprised to see the smile that crossed Ignis' face. "Good," he answered.

Honestly, Noctis was surprised at how great everyone was being about this. Not a single one of his friends or family members had suggested anything about rushing. No one called him crazy. None of them even seemed to be entertaining the fact that it was too soon. It was good, because Noctis didn't think so, either. Still, it surprised him. To the point that he looked at Ignis in mild surprise—surprise that, even if his friend couldn't see it, he could likely hear it as clear as a bell in the way he breathed in a shaky little sigh—and asked, "yeah?"

Ignis nodded. "Indeed," he answered. "I've thought you and Prompto were a brilliant pair even back before you got together." The cocky smile that crossed Ignis' face then was very reminiscent of the confident, know-it-all Ignis of the days before the accident.

That fact made Noctis smile in spite of himself. He'd believed all along that his friend could be okay. That, aside from driving, he'd be able to do everything that he used to do. It was a relief to see that he was already being proven right. "In a way, so did I," Noctis admitted in a quietly embarrassed tone. "I was... you know, attracted to him right away. And I'm pretty sure I was in love with him before I even asked him out."

Iris wore a smile that was wider than any Noctis had ever seen. "Well. That settles it. When we finish up here, fitting you two for your tuxes, we are going to Dino's." She nodded sagely. "We were going there anyway, because that's where Iggy and Gladio's wedding rings are. But now we have a _double_ reason. 'Cause you've gotta find Prompto a ring!" She nodded, closing off any chance that Noctis may have had to debate.

And she was a woman of her word, too. Once the woman behind the counter had all of their measurements, Iris had practically dragged Noctis across the hall. Noctis had been forced to remind her that his ribs were still sore, and that tugging on his arm agitated them just slightly, which was the _only_ way he'd been able to convince her to let go. Noctis turned around to ensure that Ignis was behind them, while Iris chattered on in front of him about how he'd been _so prepared_ that he'd already found out Prompto's ring size. But when they walked through the door, Iris' attention was immediately snagged by a pair of moogle earrings with a ruby pom and nose.

That left Noctis to stare at the small selection of men's rings in front of him alone, until he noticed Ignis stepping up beside him with a half-smile on his face. "I can't say I'm surprised that you're in this deep with Prompto," he confessed.

Noctis laughed a timid laugh, and nodded his head. "I mean, you were kinda the first person I talked to about it," he admitted, eyes scanning the various rings in the display case. There were several gaudy and bright ones. Prompto liked bright colors, Noctis knew that. But he never really dressed that bright or gaudy. Aside from that chocobo Christmas sweater, the memory of which made Noctis grin.

"As I am with most things," Ignis joked, leaning closer to the display case to get a look at the rings. His eyes went to his own ring, and his smile became even more honest. "You know, I'm glad you found someone who makes your world spin a little less, too. You've spent as much time as I have with your world spinning out of control. Maybe more."

Shrugging his head, Noctis mused, "I don't know about more."

But Ignis retorted with, "you have." He turned to look at Noctis, silvered-over eyes struggling a little harder to examine Noctis' face, but then turning to look away instead, the tiniest bit of disappointment creeping into his expression. He pushed it away, though, and continued speaking. "Only recently have you been granted the freedom to live for yourself in your life. And you had the common sense to acknowledge the person who helped you find your way to that freedom."

"I might not be an emotional guru, but I'm not stupid," Noctis mused, trying not to call attention to his friend's sadness.

Ignis chuckled fondly. "You're better with emotions than you think, Noct," he insisted. After a few seconds of silence—filled with Iris chattering away with the owner of the jewelry store in the background—Ignis spoke up again. "You know, I feel as though I owe Prompto a debt of gratitude as well." His tone was quiet and soft, but absolutely didn't lack in sincerity.

Noctis turned toward him again. "What for?" he asked.

Sighing, Ignis' tone lowered so that the others in the room couldn't hear him. "Speaking to your father and Gladio and Iris' father," he explained, his expression wistful but calm. Even behind the sunglasses, Noctis could see the knowledge and awareness in his friend's eyes. "Clarus has been... quite different since he and your father arrived in town." The statement was loaded, like there were some extra words that he wasn't quite saying, but that he also wouldn't, for some reason or another.

As much as he wanted to, Noctis knew better than to ask in situations like that. Ignis kept secrets like a vault. If there was something he wanted to stay in the dark, there was no way he'd say anything. "I _have_ noticed that he and Gladio haven't been provoking each other much. At all, really. They've been avoiding each other, actually..." he murmured.

Ignis' nod all but confirmed that there was something he wasn't saying, but he still didn't say it. "I would say that I don't know how Iris got her emotional awareness, if I didn't know Gladio better than to think he's actually made of stone." A fond smile crossed his face at the thought of his fiance, and he twisted the green and gold engagement ring on his finger.

Chuckling softly, Noctis nodded his head. "They just don't know how to navigate each other."

"To be fair, it took me many, many years to be able to navigate Gladio," Ignis mused in reply. "Regardless of how instantly I was drawn to him."

Noctis smirked. "I bet you're ready to finally get married, though. Officially, I mean. You two have more or less been married since forever." He turned his eyes back to the display case, glancing at the rings again.

Humming a note of amused agreement, Ignis mused, "I've been ready to marry him since he proposed to me. Since far, far before then, actually. All we have to do is get this damned trial out of the way." Talk of the trial brought an uncharacteristic moment of seething anger out of Ignis. It was understandable, of course. He'd lost so much from this. More than any of the others, arguably. And as much as he tried to keep on and stay strong, it had to be hard sometimes. Pausing and clearing his throat to collect himself, he leaned closer to the display case, pointing a ring out to Noctis. "I'm not sure if this actually looks as nice as my eyes think it is," he admitted, his lips drawing downward into a frown. Before sadness could take over, he continued. "But if it does, it seems perfect for Prompto."

With a glance at the ring Ignis was pointing at, Noctis blinked a couple of times. Subtle. A white gold band, decorated with a line of black diamonds. A modular engraving was etched on the underside, and Noctis' lips quirked up into a half-smile, as he placed his good arm on Ignis' shoulder. "It's... perfect, actually," he murmured. "Looks like you've still got an eye for this." The phrasing was deliberate, and he squeezed Ignis' shoulder in comfort.

"Ah. My gratitude." Ignis' smile was humble, bittersweet. After a moment, he cleared his throat and said. "I'll go fetch the jeweler for you."

After a quick and fruitless argument that Noctis could do it himself, Ignis dismissed himself. Noctis glanced back at the ring again, worrying his lip in his mouth. He was ready for this. Of course he was. And imagining the look on Prompto's face when he opened the box and displayed the ring made him all the _more_ ready. He almost didn't want to wait. But he had to. The trial still loomed, and he didn't want to taint what was supposed to be their time with the unknowns of what would happen _during_ the trial. But when it was all over? Then he would make Prompto his. For real. Forever.


	31. Ending Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _how endings start,_  
>  _ending start..._  
>  _starts with answers._  
> [ending start](https://open.spotify.com/track/7gt0KnpWKf8BKuCN8u2pp3) \- metric

When the first day of the trial finally came, Noctis found himself _unbelievably_ nervous. Before they got through the doors to the courthouse, that nervousness had proved to be a hundred percent accurate, too. His dad and Uncle Clarus had warned them that, while they'd managed to keep the media off their cases when going about their day to day lives, there was absolutely _nothing_ they could do to prevent trouble once they got to the courthouse. And as it turned out, they were absolutely right. Uncle Clarus did his best to deflect them, as did Weskham and Noctis' dad, but every once in awhile, as the group walked into the courthouse, they'd be caught off-guard by a camera or a question.

The advice that his dad gave—head down and don't answer—was taken to heart. His dad stepped in every time someone caught them off-guard, as did Clarus and Weskham, and they managed to get into the courthouse without too much incident. Once they got inside, though, there was another sea of media to navigate before they got into the courtroom. The same pattern repeated itself, until the doors closed behind them. The only time he'd seen his dad so relieved was when he'd woken up in the hospital after the break-in.

Once they got settled in, Noctis took a look around the room. On the plaintiff's side of the doors, sat their whole small family. Noctis closest to the door, with Prompto beside him, then Ignis and Gladio, and then Iris and Aranea. Sitting next to the arm still in a sling was his father's personal lawyer, Weskham Amaugh. Behind him, two rows back on the plaintiff's side, sat the two Alliance members that had broken into the apartment and put him in the hospital. According to Weskham and his dad, Gentiana had done as she'd promised, scouring the campus for them and sending them to the police. 

Somehow, the police had managed to convince them to testify against Ardyn. Not just to breaking into the apartment, but to the fight with Prompto, Aranea and Iris, _and_ to rat out their group members who had attacked Ignis and Gladio. The cowards responsible for _that_ attack had gone on the run, so it was a bit of cold comfort, but at the very least, they had names. Gentiana, too, had done what neither of the previous two Deans had done and forced the Alliance to disband, with the threat of expulsion to each and every student involved with the group. He barely knew the woman—Luna knew her well, which automatically made Noctis trust her a little more—but he already hoped that she stayed.

Weskham seemed confident enough that they would be able to win, though. Between the staggering amount of evidence that they had on Ardyn, and the eventual Alliance members' testimony, he was sure, he said, that Ardyn would be spending the foreseeable future in prison. He filtered through papers; written evidence, lists of names of the Alliance assholes involved in everything that had happened to them, so many other papers that Noctis had absolutely no clue about... but he was sure they were important.

Beside him, Prompto fidgeted. Already, several times today, he'd expressed a little bit of anxiety toward having his whole life displayed in front of the whole room. Strangers. Enemies. Because somehow, despite how terrible he was, even Ardyn had people sitting on his side of the room. A pair of Alliance members that Gentiana warned that she couldn't get to quit—she'd expelled them, but they still persisted—and a few people that Noctis didn't recognize, but his dad seemed to. He'd told the group their names—Caligo Ulldor, Iedolas Aldercapt, and Titus Drautos—and then whispered a nervous aside to Clarus that he hadn't shared with them.

But they eyed his dad with disgust and disdain all the same. Prompto, too. Ignis had surmised that they were from Old Niflheim, which made sense and made Noctis furious at the same time.

The door opened, and in strode Ardyn, all orange jumpsuit and confident Cheshire smile. It brought Noctis the tiniest sense of vindication that he was cuffed and being led down the hall by a pair of security guards, but it still wasn't enough. A second man strode in behind him, too. The man appeared older than Noctis' father, with an extremely receding and extremely _white_ hairline. He cast a disgusted grimace toward the group. No... toward _Prompto_.

"Ah, I wasn't aware I would be facing off against the mighty Weskham Amaugh," Ardyn chided, his words directed toward Weskham, but his eyes cast toward Noctis. "I'd like to introduce you to _my_ attorney. One of you may recognize him. Meet Verstael Besithia. One of Niflheim's finest attorneys at law."

Verstael Besithia. Noctis didn't even need to be reminded, before the exact significance of that name leaped forward in his mind. Prompto's file. His father. Ardyn had gone so far as to hire Prompto's _birth father_ as a lawyer to try and throw them off. He turned to look at his boyfriend as _soon_ as the words escaped Ardyn's lips, preparing himself for any sort of reaction.

Whatever preparation he tried to give, though, it wasn't even close to enough. Prompto's eyes shot open then, staring at the man with all of the terror of a man facing a vulnerability _should_ have stared. He clung to the arms of his chair desperately, his mouth open but no sound coming out at first. "You're...?" he finally stammered, completely shocked.

The old man laughed, nodding a sly nod, but then turning his head away from Prompto like he didn't even matter to begin with. Regis was out of his seat, his hands on the bar that separated the spectators and witnesses from the participants in the case. "Izunia, how could you-"

Ardyn's cool facade faded when he turned his head and looked at Noctis' dad. "I wasn't aware it was your place to tell me who I can and can't hire to represent me, Caelum," he snapped. "Or do you think you run places _outside_ of Niflheim, too?"

"Enough," the security guard guiding Ardyn interrupted, tugging on his arm and pulling him toward his side of the room. "Antagonizing your opponents isn't gonna help your case, Izunia. And you're gonna need all the help you can get." Noctis didn't recognize the man, but it was nice to see that even some people that he _didn't_ know were on their side.

Prompto still stared after Verstael in stunned silence, his hands nervously balled into fists at his sides and his mouth slightly agape. "That's... that's my-"

Turning his head away from where Verstael and Ardyn settled in their seats, Noctis nodded, pushing his hand into Prompto's and forcing his fingers open to twine them with Noctis' own. "I know," he muttered. "I remember." And he was even more disgusted with Ardyn now.

Whatever Noctis had expected the man that given life to Prompto to look like, this was very much not it. Not that he expected anything particularly good—the man was despicable enough not to care that his son was enslaved, after all—but a wrinkled old man, who still somehow managed to be imposing, was very much not the expectation. He sat, turned to look at them long enough to give Prompto a menacing eye and a mocking smile, then turned to his paperwork and started chatting with Ardyn like they were old friends. It took every iota of strength within Noctis not to get up, cross the floor, and _deck_ the man, but he managed somehow.

"I don't know if... I don't know if I can do this, Noctis. My f-" Prompto stumbled over the word, the hand that Noctis didn't have hold of trembling.

Noctis cursed the ever-present sling on his arm, but turned to look at Prompto with a secure nod and a squeeze of his hand. "You can," he answered. "You can do this. I mean, if you can go to Insomnia and talk to my dad and Uncle Clarus, still thinking they hated you, then you can do this. You can face him, Prompto." He smoothed his thumb over the back of Prompto's hand.

"I suspect that this is what Ardyn wanted," Ignis pointed out in a calm tone behind Prompto. "To scare you. Make you not want to speak out."

Regis spoke up from behind the bar, nodding and placing a hand on Prompto's shoulder. "Ultimately, it's your call, son," he spoke calmly, nodding twice. "No one here will fault you if you have to back out. It's disappointing, that none of us suspected that he would stoop so low as to bring Verstael with him." He frowned.

Nodding his agreement, Weskham said, "I should have had an inkling, too," with an apologetic glance to Prompto. "If you're going to do it, let me know so that I can make a contingency pl-"

But Prompto cut him off with a shake of his head and a breath outward. "No," he insisted, turning his head from Weskham to Verstael, who didn't even acknowledge his existence. A frown etched its way through his features, but he pulled in a sharp breath and looked up at Noctis. "Noctis is right." His hands still trembled just slightly, but he visibly swallowed the nerves back. "I... I can. I can do it." Turning to look at Noctis, there was an unspoken question in his eyes. Asking if he _could_ do it.

Noctis responded with a nod, bringing Prompto's fingers up to his lips and kissing them softly. "You can," he reassured Prompto in a gentle whisper.

Prompto nodded, one side of his mouth quirking up into the apparition of a smile, but it faded just as quickly as it showed up. "I can't let them chase me into a corner, scare me from another situation. They've been following me my whole life, and-" A pause, and an unsure and shaky breath- "and I can't let them do it again. You're all here with me. So..." He cast his eyes over toward Verstael, then back to the others. "So, I have to. I'm going to."

Though Prompto resolved himself, he glanced over at Verstael again, and behind those bright blue eyes, Noctis could almost see the desperate plea for the old man to change his mind. Noctis knew that it was fruitless, as he followed Prompto's eyes over to the man's back. He filed through papers, then leaned over to murmur something to Ardyn, who turned to look at the group of them with a disdainful scowl. Honestly, even knowing Ardyn's motives, Noctis wondered how the man could hold a grudge for so long. A grudge so strong that he was willing to end a woman's life and ruin so many others.

Before any more thoughts could register, the chamber doors opened and Judge Elshett walked through, black coat bustling with her confident steps. The next few hours were filled with droning conversation; court procedures that Noctis was barely even familiar with, beyond what he'd seen on TV shows and movies. The lawyers asked questions to the responding police about what had happened to them on each of the nights when Ardyn had attacked them. It was hard to pay attention, when Prompto looked so nervous and anxious about the man carrying out the other half of the trial. Every single time Verstael spoke, Prompto tensed and squeezed Noctis' hand a little tighter.

Judge Elshett seemed incredibly sympathetic to them, as much as she tried not to show it. Her tone was always a little bit gentler when she spoke with them, as opposed to when she addressed Ardyn or Verstael.

Next came the Alliance members. The ones that had broken into the apartment. They confessed to as much as they possibly could. Weskham asked them about their involvement with the group, and they confessed that Ardyn had approached them and told them of the three relationships in Noctis' circle. He'd sworn secrecy, assuring them that they'd never be found out of they took action, starting with Prompto. Verstael had tried to point out that they'd been pressured to testify, and while they admitted to its truth, neither the judge or the jury really seemed to care about that detail.

It gave Noctis more than a little bit of hope about how the rest of this was going to go.

Gladio was called to the stand next, where he answered every question about his accident with the utmost confidence that he could muster. Cross-examination was a little bit tougher. Gladio had never been terribly calm, and when he was face to face with Verstael, who was defending Ardyn of all people, that calm was even harder to keep in place. But he was asked to recount the accident as much as he possibly could, and pointed out that Gentiana had actually narrowed down the drivers of the cars that crashed into them. Ignis was far calmer. He took each question from both Weskham and Verstael in complete stride, even when Verstael called into question any visual testimony that he could make, given how 'shoddy' his eyesight was.

That put the whole room—barring the obvious—on the defensive.

Iris, though nervous, answered every question that Weskham threw at her. Cross-examination, in her case, was a small victory. Verstael had tried to back her into a corner, but she'd pointed out that she was completely lucid after the fight, and nothing had happened to her since then. She remembered everything that had happened from the first incident to now, and she recalled them with as much detail as possible. Aranea, too, thought slightly brusque in her commentary, was completely clear on everything. The only problem was that she had the same frustrations with the situations as Gladio did. She didn't like Verstael parading around like he was innocent and a victim in his own right, and she'd plainly stated that since she was under oath, she had absolutely no problems telling him that.

Noctis was called to the stand next. Most of his questioning involved the break-in. Weskham asked him to recall, in as much detail as he possibly could, what had happened that day, so he had. He recalled what day of the week it was and what time of day it was. He explained that he walked into the apartment after class and Ardyn had broken into his apartment, alongside the two Alliance members who were in the back of the room, and hung their heads when Noctis pointed them out. After recounting everything that they did to him as best he could, he explained that had Aranea not found him, he might be dead.

When Verstael came up to question him, it was almost—no, it _was_ —impossible to focus on anything but how he wanted to stand up and punch the man square in the jaw for everything he'd done to Prompto. From his seat behind Weskham, Prompto stared back at the situation, shrinking down almost to nothing, and only calming when Regis reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Verstael glanced at Noctis with vitriol usually saved for a lifelong enemy, then pointed out, "my client told me of an incident in the hospital in early December," with a slick smile crossing his face. "Where he was minding his own business, merely sharing his concern for the injured Argentum, and with no provocation, you punched him. Is this true, Noctis?"

Noctis felt his hands clinging tighter to the arms of the chair. No provocation. Sharing his concern. Fury coursed through his veins, and he had all he could do to keep from reacting. So much so that he couldn't even answer verbally right away.

"Is this _true_ , Mr. Caelum?" Verstael repeated.

Eyes narrowed, jaw clenched, Noctis rumbled a low and steady, "yes."

"Did you ever think," Verstael asked calmly, placing the manila envelope down on the judge's table, "that everything that's happened since then is your fault? That if you'd just let the man go on his way, walk out the door and go about his business, then none of what happened afterward would have-"

Weskham's voice sounded through the courtroom. "Objection," he spoke calmly. "I hardly see how a single punch—a single _unreported_ punch—compares to one count of murder, three counts of attempted murder, and three counts of assault, your honor."

The judge nodded once. "Sustained," she answered, turning to Verstael. "Mr. Izunia didn't report this incident. Granted, Mr. Caelum could have handled the situation differently and likely shouldn't have punched Mr. Izunia, it seems to me that you're merely provoking the witness. Next question, counsel." She watched Verstael expectantly.

"No further questions, your honor," Verstael huffed, defeated.

Judge Elshett pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation, the first obvious show of irritation that anyone had seen from her all day, then announced a recess, dismissing the jury and everyone else in the room. Noctis stood, puffing a soft sigh and walking across the floor to stand in front of Prompto. Prompto stared at Verstael as he walked out of the room again, completely ignoring Prompto's presence like he didn't even exist or matter. That made Noctis seethe again, and he clenched his fist tightly, using his injured hand to grab hold of the lapel of his coat, since he couldn't properly squeeze it closed yet.

He was vaguely aware of his father suggesting that they stay in this room. The media was outside, he reminded them, so he, Weskham, and Clarus would go and "curtail the questions for them." They walked outside, and Noctis slumped into the chair next to Prompto again, rubbing his hand over his eyes in frustration.

"They're trying to throw us off our game. Each of us have been asked stupid questions. It wasn't hard to provoke Gladio. Or with Specs, which was a surprise. They're literally willing to try anything in the world to throw us off, so..." So when it was Prompto's turn, Noctis had to admit to a little bit of concern as to where the conversation would go.

Prompto nodded his head. "I think... I think in my case, that's a good thing." He wrung his hands together, raking his teeth over his lips and trying to keep himself as calm as possible. "Because, y'know. My... my d-" He stopped short, shaking his head hard and blinking back tears again- "Verstael... I actually have something against him. I actually... I have something we need, you know? So... so, I can help. Right?" Once again, he tried to sound confident. Sure. But he didn't quite make it.

Noctis hated this for him. Every single piece of Noctis wanted to assure Prompto that everything would be okay. That no matter what happened here today, no matter _what_ the end result of all of this madness was, Noctis would be there and there was no way that anyone would hurt him again if Noctis had anything to say about it. Relaxing his hand, he reached up and touched Prompto's cheek, nodding in what he hoped was comfort.

"You can," Noctis reminded him. "You're a hero, too, Blondie. And whatever happens, I'm here. I'm with you, okay?"

Prompto cast his eyes down to look at the floor, shaking his head sadly and trying to blink back tears. "I know. I know you are, Hero. And I love you for it. I just can't believe... I can't believe that _that's_ my f-" He couldn't even say the word- "that it's _him_... you know? That that's... That I'm... That he's..." It was saddening that Prompto couldn't even acknowledge the words, but it also made perfect sense.

The insecurity and nervousness made Noctis move his hand down and wrap it around Prompto's lower back, pulling him in for a hug and shaking his head no. "That's not your dad," he insisted. "That's not your family, okay? You're better than him. You're _way_ better than him, and you _deserve_ better than him. He's not your family. We are." He pulled back and met Prompto's eyes, smiling a sad smile. "I am, Prompto, okay?"

And when all of this was said and done, he would make it official.


	32. You're Crashing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _case open, case shut,_  
>  _but you could pay to close it like a casket._  
>  _baby boy can't lift his headache head,_  
>  _isn't it tragic?_  
> [you're crashing, but you're no wave](https://open.spotify.com/track/64CB5Vaexl0pcWuO6Yyco6) \- fall out boy

"Mr. Argentum, can you tell us about what happened to you when you lived in Niflheim?" Weskham asked Prompto, tone calm but professional as he stood calmly, hands linked behind his back.

Noctis watched helplessly as Prompto fidgeted on the witness stand. Verstael and Ardyn bared down on him, daring him to speak and spill his whole story onto the floor of the courtroom, in front of strangers and enemies. It was bad enough, Noctis figured, that his friends knew. But to speak the words in front of a room full of people, and the pair of press people who Noctis hadn't even realized had been in the courtroom all along? Well, that had to be all the worse. He knew, though, that Prompto was brave enough not to back down. Not to let them scare him.

Except he looked a little bit scared now as he turned his attention to Noctis, meeting his eye and looking for nonverbal encouragement. Noctis nodded a single nod, softening his expression from the tense scowl it had been trained into, and rubbed his hand along his own bouncing knee. For all the calm Noctis was trying to portray, trying to send back to Prompto, it only came across half as calm as he hoped it would, he was sure.

Regardless, the moment of eye contact and silent communication was interrupted by Weskham clearing his throat calmly and calling Prompto's attention to him. "Mr. Argentum?" he asked, his tone filled with the slightest hint of regret as he regarded Prompto with concern. Judge Elshett didn't rush him. It was probably some level of unfair, that everything in this trial was so tilted in their favor, but Noctis wasn't going to complain. The only other things that school year that had tilted in their favor were their relationships with their small family, and the expansion of that small family to include Noctis' and Gladio's dads. Everything else felt like it was kicking them down, so maybe Noctis was a little bit ready to accept some unfair favor.

"S-sorry," Prompto murmured, raking his teeth over his lower lip and glancing back at Weskham. "Yeah. So... I lived in Niflheim until I was four. Back when it was the way it was before the reform. You know, with the... um... slave factories and stuff. My mom was a worker. And so was I when I hit four..."

Prompto went on to explain the bits and pieces he remembered about his mother, pointing out the information on his file when Weskham asked about it. His mother's name, the fact that his code name matched the scorched and scarred numbers beneath his sleeve. The gasps of horror from varying sources throughout the courtroom made him glance at the floor, embarrassed at having that a spectacle for the whole room to see. He went on to tell the story of how he'd been one of the few kids in the area raised by a mother who loved him, and how he'd been put in solitary confinement for asking a question.

In the middle of his story, Verstael stood, slamming his hands on the desk and glaring at Prompto in disdain. "I object!" he announced, turning from Prompto to the judge. "Yes, yes, he has a sob story. We're all touched, I'm sure." Beside him, Ardyn grinned slyly, pursing his lips. "But we're not here to listen to sob stories today, are we? I fail to see what this has to do with my client-"

"It _does_!" Much to everyone's surprise, it wasn't Weskham's voice or anyone else's voice that spoke out in Prompto's defense. It was Prompto's own.

Verstael huffed in annoyance, rolling his eyes at Prompto. "Just because someone was mean to your friends doesn't mean that they're behind every terrible thing that has ever happened to you in your life, child," he spat, eyes that looked far too much like Prompto's for it to be fair, bearing down on Prompto like a menace.

Turning to face Verstael, Weskham scoffed. "If you would let the lad finish his story, Besithia, it would be obvious how it relates to your client." He turned to Judge Elshett and asked her a silent question with his expression, asking her if it was okay for Prompto to continue or if Besithia's objection would be sustained.

But Elshett continued to err in their favor, because with a strained expression on her face, she said, "objection overruled. But please, get to the point, Mr. Armaugh."

Weskham nodded and turned back to Prompto. "Discuss what happened on the night of December 8th of 740, please." He was calm, but from the other side of the room, Noctis couldn't deny more than his fair share of nervousness. This story had been so difficult for Prompto to share with _Noctis_ , so he could only imagine how Prompto must have been feeling, being forced to retell it in front of a room full of people who were hanging on his every word for various reasons.

Still, in the face of such scrutiny, and proving exactly how brave he was, Prompto didn't back down. He nodded his head once, tearing his eyes away from Verstael, who was grumbling to himself and shuffling through a pile of paperwork that was getting thinner and thinner as each defense—or each attack, as it were—he had seemed to crumble to the ground. Swallowing nerves, Prompto wrung his hands together and pulled in a deep breath, then recalled the entire story of the night his mother was murdered to the court. Ardyn sneered from behind the desk, eyes narrowed menacingly at Prompto, then leaned in to whisper something to Verstael, who then turned his attention to Prompto.

The old man glared. Intimidation. And it seemed to be working.

"A-and... and someone..." Prompto's words stammered, tears streaming down his cheeks but his eyes focused on Verstael and Ardyn, "s-someone shot at us. She got hit t-trying to make sure I didn't. And she made me run. Run away and start a life somewhere else. I heard another gunshot before... before I got too far away. They... _he_ killed her." His eyes raised and he looked at Ardyn.

Before Verstael could even stand, Weskham turned to the clerk and called for, "exhibit C, please."

While he described Ardyn's journal and cross-checked it to several of the written administrative documents he'd put together while working at the school—as well as the testimony Noctis had given about the afternoon of his attack—Noctis found himself tuned out. His eyes caught Prompto's through the crowded room, and though both of them had heat-lined eyes thanks to their tears, Noctis managed a proud smile. Prompto had done it. He'd done what he'd been afraid he couldn't do, and stood up to Ardyn—and Verstael, even—letting the court know exactly who they were.

"As you can see on this... this... file..." Weskham's voice went completely and totally silent as he looked the file over, then his eyes laser-focused in on one spot on the page. "Wait. Hold on a moment, I apologize."

A sharp, gasping sound of realization caught Noctis' attention, too, and he snapped his attention back to Weskham as he glanced at the journal page on display. His posture straightened, and he tilted his head to the side, turning to Judge Elshett and then to the jurors. "Your honor, esteemed members of the jury, if I may point something out to all of you?" he questioned, headed over to the enlarged photo of Prompto's file when the clerk brought it up. "The documentation on Mr. Argentum's file dictates that he was fathered by Verstael Besithia."

The judge glanced over at Verstael in disdain, before glancing down at the file on display. Several gasps rang out through the courtroom, and Noctis glanced over his shoulder to see every single person who didn't know of the situation looking from Prompto to Verstael in varying degrees of surprise. Weskham glanced at Prompto in apology, but continued talking. "If you look further down on this page in Mr. Izunia's journal, it discusses reporting back to a man named _Verstael Besithia_ about 'what went wrong today,' referencing the murder of Laeta Argentum on the Niflheim borders." He pointed further down the page, then glanced back at the jury.

Next, Weskham listed off a lot of legal jargon that Noctis didn't understand, but key terms that he _did_ understand were 'conflict of interest' and recommending having Verstael held in contempt of court. "Not only that, but he should be behind bars for his involvement in the mistreatment of workers in Old Niflheim, and tried at a later date!"

Noctis' eyes widened as he looked from Weskham to Verstael, and then from Verstael to Judge Elshett. It was literally just a name on a piece of paper. A small, tiny bit of evidence that really had so, so little to do with anything they were actually here for today. But at the same time, it wasn't small at _all_. It was huge. Noctis was sure that the punishment for running one of those facilities wasn't as severe as murder, but it was something. Even if it wasn't even remotely _close_ to what Besithia deserved.

Judge Elshett seemed to think so, too, as she turned her head to look at Verstael and Ardyn. Verstael raged, shouted conjecture and how he couldn't even prove that Ardyn had been telling the truth. That made Ardyn's glare snap to Verstael, a loud seething noise coming from the pit of his throat. No matter how many times Judge Elshett told Verstael to calm down, though, he wouldn't listen, which forced her to hold him in contempt. "And you can rest assured, Mr. Besithia, I will have people research your involvement in all of this," she murmured to him, before motioning to the bailiff.

A victorious smile crossed Noctis' face when the large man crossed the room, grabbed Verstael and held his arm behind his back, pulling him out a side door. The smile faltered, however, when he looked back at Prompto, who was staring after the man with a very, _very_ conflicted expression on his face. Part of him looked glad, relieved even, to have him out of the room. But the rest—perhaps a larger part, even—looked sad. Whatever the man was, no matter how terrible and despicable, and no matter how little he seemed to think of or care for Prompto, the fact remained that Prompto was still half him. That he was Prompto's—not father, not dad... but a part of his DNA. And the man didn't care. Suddenly, all victory that Noctis had been feeling crumbled down to the ground, despite the celebratory noises and smiles being cast through the rest of the group.

Noctis made a mental note to hug Prompto as tightly as he possibly could with his one good arm, later on.

"Enough. Order!" Judge Elshett banged her gavel on her desk a couple of times, before turning to Weskham. "Do you have any further questions for the witness? Because I would like to call my own witness."

Weskham shook his head no and Prompto was dismissed from the stand. He joined Noctis, who wrapped an arm around his shoulders and leaned in close. "It's okay, Blondie. It's... it's okay," he murmured, pressing his lips to the top of Prompto's head as he leaned into Noctis' good shoulder and trembled just slightly with unshed tears.

Later. They'd deal with all of these emotions later. Noctis wouldn't let them fall to the wayside.

Once Weskham took his seat again, Judge Elshett turned to look at Ardyn. "I call Ardyn Izunia to the stand, please."

Unfazed, Weskham flipped through his files, then turned to look at Ardyn as the bailiff appeared at Ardyn's side to escort him to the stand. The swearing in, Noctis assumed, was just a formality; a waste of time. Nothing, absolutely _nothing_ , that Ardyn said could ever be taken at face value. Nothing was an absolute truth, unless it was designed to screw with whoever was _getting_ that truth. Noctis glared at the man as he sat in the chair at the stand, but was surprised when, instead of his usual Cheshire smile, his expression held anger. Contempt. Much like he had that day in the apartment, his facade was crumbling at the realization that his plan had failed. That he hadn't been able to get to them like he'd wanted to.

At the judge's (somewhat curt) urging, Ardyn started telling an _extremely_ watered down version of the story he'd told Noctis when he'd attacked. Noctis had already shared what Ardyn had said that day, and Prompto had _also_ shared what had happened to him so many years ago, but that didn't stop Ardyn from dramatically and flagrantly twisting and convoluting parts of the story to make _him_ look like the victim. According to his words, everything was orchestrated by some of the higher-ups in Niflheim, and he was " _so bereft_ about losing the life I'd ever known, that naturally, I would latch onto the one person I could identify as the man to take that life from me."

Behind Noctis, he could almost _hear_ his father seething at that. But Weskham managed to keep his cool, getting to his feet and going to the front of the courtroom when his turn for cross-examination came. "Your testimony, Mr. Izunia, made mentions of Old Niflheim and your superiors wanting you to do this and that, and all of the other things that you did. But if you're such a victim, then why did you not approach authorities about the way you were victimized when all was said and done?" he asked. "If you were so scandalized, then why did you not do the decent thing, come forth, admit guilt, and then implement _them_ for what happened in regards to Laeta Argentum's murder?"

Those words made Prompto tense slightly, and Noctis held him a little bit closer. On his other side, Ignis offered a supportive hand to Prompto's shoulder as well.

"And all of this says nothing about everything else that you've been accused of, borderline proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be involved in. Your testimony, to me, sounds like the words of a man despondently trying to play at the heart strings of the jury in a very clearly open and shut case. Tell me, Mr. Izunia," Weskham paused, placing his hands on top of the small cubicle that surrounded the witness stand. "How, exactly, do your actions wipe your hands clean of hiring the Alliance to attack Mr. Argentum, Miss Amicitia, and Miss Highwind? How do they clear you of hiring the Alliance to hit Mr. Scientia and Mr. Amicitia's car? _How_ , Mr. Izunia, do they abscond you from _breaking in_ to Mr. Caelum's apartment and having Alliance thugs beating him within an inch of his life?"

Ardyn didn't speak right away, instead casting his gaze out to the crowd, at all of the faces staring expectantly at him for an answer. Reporters stood with their pens at the ready, and Noctis stared at Ardyn like he _dared_ the man to try and blame any of that on anyone else. Three people, in a courtroom filled with dozens, were on his side. Well, okay, maybe that wasn't _quite_ true. Noctis didn't know where the jury stood. He had to hope, though, that they had some semblance of decency and common sense in their heads and that they realized that Ardyn was insane. Vengeful and terrible. And he was guilty of absolutely everything that they'd brought forth.

The lack of an immediate answer from Ardyn said more than words could. He was calculating, trying to figure out if there was any conceivable way that he could get out of this without incriminating himself further. But there wasn't. There was no way. He'd burned all of his chances by taunting and baiting, rather than trying to find any sort of way to defend against the awful things he'd done. Not that there was any. There wasn't. There was no defense for what he'd done to any of them; to however many people he'd done it to in the past, in Old Niflheim?

When they finished here, Noctis made a point to remember to thank his father for all he'd done. Not just here, today; but over the past few months and back then, over a decade ago. While he and his dad may not have had the same picture for his life, there was no denying that beneath the harder edges, his dad was an incredible man. The kind of man he hoped to be.

"I don't imagine anything I say would be good enough to live up to _your_ standards, Mr. Armaugh," Ardyn finally chided, in lieu of an answer. "Your associate, the older Mr. Caelum-" Amber eyes glanced over at Noctis' dad- "didn't put too much thought into all of the lives he was ruining when he breezed through Niflheim and changed it, however. All he cared for at the time was changing-"

It took _every single bit of strength_ that Noctis had within him not to stand up and shout, but it seemed like he didn't have to. Because Weskham had it handled. "Mr. Izunia. As someone who was there and helping oversee the Niflheim reform, I can tell you that anything that Regis Lucis Caelum did back then was far, _far_ overdue. Now, I realize that a life change can be incredibly difficult to cope with. But seeing as how this life change allowed you to fly under the radar for nearly sixteen years after killing a woman, and all you _truly_ had to do was find honest means to get work, one would suspect that you'd be far more grateful." This time, it was _Weskham's_ tone that was mocking.

Judge Elshett didn't say a word, didn't bang her gavel or hold Weskham in contempt. And if Noctis allowed himself to believe it, he thought that _maybe_ he saw the slightest upward twitch of one side of her mouth when Weskham went off as he did. A part of Noctis wondered if that was normal, but he had absolutely no intention to complain. It was working in their favor, so what kind of insane would he have to be to complain?

After an exclamation of "no further questions," Weskham turned and nodded a subtle nod at everyone sitting in a row, before taking his seat and folding his hands confidently on the desk.

With that, Judge Elshett told the courtroom that there would be a brief break while the jury deliberated. Ardyn was escorted back to his seat, and his three-person posse walked up toward the bar to speak with him. They spoke in hushed tones, and Noctis found himself wondering exactly what was being said. But it didn't matter. He turned back toward his family and tried to be patient while they waited. And waited. And waited. Deliberations were taking far, far longer than they should have taken. It was a simple answer. Ardyn had done everything. He'd done it all. So, why was it taking so long?

Prompto was still visibly shaken. Unless someone was talking directly to him, he stared down at the ground. Without even searching his expression, Noctis could tell that his mind was going a hundred thousand miles an hour. He chewed on the inside of his lip for a second, before wiggling his fingers in Prompto's hand to gather his attention.

"Hey, Blondie," he announced. "You know what we should do tonight?"

Blue eyes turned toward him, blinking twice. Prompto raked his teeth over his lip, then asked, "what should we do tonight?"

Noctis reached over to push a tuft of blond from Prompto's eyes. "No matter what happens from here, we should go to dinner. Go home, change out of these monkey suits, into something more... date-ish, and go out to dinner. Just to put this all behind us." He thought of the engagement ring, hiding in the back corner of his closet, behind several other boxes. Maybe he could have brought it with him today, but he'd meant what he'd said about wanting to do it right. "I know it's been a long day and everything, but I thought that we could hit that little Accordan restaurant that I got the food from on the first night you came over and-"

Prompto cut him off with a weak but sincere smile, then nodded his head. "Hero, as long as you're there, I'll go anywhere," he mumbled, placing a hand against Noctis' jaw and running his fingers along the length of the scar left behind from when he'd gone through the table. "I think some time for just us would be great. Especially after today." He pressed their lips together in a brief kiss, then nodded his head.

 _As long as you're there, I'll go anywhere._ Noctis had to smile at that. But before he could make any further comment, the door to the jury deliberation chambers opened and all twelve members of the jury filed out. Everyone straightened up, and Noctis could practically _feel_ the nervous energy coursing its way through his veins as he squeezed Prompto's hand a little bit tighter.

The foreman read the charges back: one count of murder, one count of running an illegal forced labor camp, two counts of conspiracy to commit vehicular manslaughter, four counts of conspiracy to commit assault. The foreman, a woman in her mid-forties, turned to Judge Elshett and announced, "we the jury, in the above-entitled actions, find the defendant, Ardyn Izunia, guilty of all charges."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I owe a _massive_ debt of gratitude to [IntoThePensive](http://archiveofourown.org/users/IntoThePensive) for this one. Thanks for handholding me through the legal stuff, my dear!


	33. All I Need

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: gratuitous spiciness ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> _you shine like a light blazing down on me;_  
>  _instead of reaching out, i trace your skin to see._  
>  _in my head, you’re a constant heartbeat._  
>  _i feel you rushing through my veins;_  
>  _you're all i need, you always come for me._  
> [all i need](https://open.spotify.com/track/6CUq75Si9HXehScdt2QTJQ) \- foxes

La Rosellina was packed tonight. Noctis wondered if maybe going out to a place like this after the day they'd had was such a good idea, especially since Prompto had never really smiled quite the same since the revelation that his biological father was Ardyn's lawyer. Not that Noctis really expected him to, of course. It was a devastating revelation, that the man half responsible for his existence was so willing to throw him away; to side with the man who had tried to have him _killed_.

Ardyn had gotten forty-seven years in prison. That was the final sentence. Thirty years for killing Laeta, ten years for what he did to Gladio and Ignis, five for the two fights, and two for what he'd done in Niflheim. It simultaneously felt like enough, and didn't. Life. Noctis thought that he should have gotten life. But he didn't. Almost fifty years would do, though. No chance for parole was another comfort. At the very least, if he managed to survive long enough to see the other side of the situation, he'd be far, far too old to seek revenge. And for the first time in months, Noctis felt like he could really, really relax and enjoy his boyfriend's company.

Except, Noctis was realizing that maybe going out on a date on the night after an emotionally charged trial might not have been the best idea. Prompto was quiet, quieter than Noctis ever remembered him being since they'd first met. He stared at his plate of chickatrice parmesan like it held the answers to all of his questions about Verstael and the sadness that he must have been feeling. Noctis glanced down at his own food, his half-finished dish of shrimp pesto. Moving a couple of pieces of shrimp around, he glanced up at Prompto. As if on instinct, or like he was sensing Noctis' eyes on him, Prompto glanced up through a half-coiffed curtain of blond and looked at him in a failed attempt at portraying happiness.

But Noctis didn't want the fake happy, so, rather than smiling in return, he bit his lip nervously. "You know," he started, "we don't have to be here if you don't want to. I can get the check and we can just... take the rest of our food to go and head home. We didn't really take the time to decompress or anything when we-"

Prompto shook his head abruptly, realization seeming to dawn on him. "No! N-no," he responded, glancing back down at his plate and then turning his eyes back up to Noctis. "I..." Swallowing thickly, he finally cut a piece from his meal and stabbed it with his fork. "I'm sorry, Hero. I'm probably not the best company tonight. I don't mean to be. I..." Cutting himself off rather than continuing to speak, he shoved his full fork into his mouth and shrugged a shoulder, like that completed the sentence for Noctis.

Funnily enough, it actually did. "You're thinking about today. I know. It's okay," Noctis answered, then moved around to the other side of the booth so that he was sitting _beside_ Prompto rather than across the table from him. "You were yanked through the ringer more than the rest of us were." He reached for his plate, dragging it to the other side of the table alongside him. He gathered his wine glass next, taking a quick sip before setting it on the table and turning his head to smile sadly at Prompto.

"Not more, not really," Prompto murmured, making another cut in his chicken and staring at it on his fork for a minute. "I just... I was surprised, I guess. I never thought..." He paused, sighed a soft and frustrated sigh, and set his fork back down on his plate. "I knew that my... my..." Stopping short, he still choked a bit on the word. "That he was a bad guy. That he was one of them, you know? I just never thought that I'd ever have to _see_ him. I wanted to, but I didn't. And now I wish I hadn't."

Prompto shuffled some pasta around on his plate, before impaling a piece with his fork and bringing it to his mouth. After chewing and swallowing, he continued speaking. "It's like... I know I'm not alone. I have you, and you're like... perfect." He flashed a slightly more genuine smile at Noctis—who blushed and laughed a single note in response; he was hardly perfect, but he didn't want to argue—before glancing down at the table. "I love you and I'm happy with you. But I see your dad. And Gladio and Iris' dad. And I'm like... why couldn't I have a dad like that? Instead, I get one that I've never seen before today, and..." He blinked slowly, trying to blink back tears, "and when I finally do see him, it's representing the man who killed my mother. Who tried to kill my boyfriend. Me. My friends. My..."

"Your family," Noctis reminded him, placing the uninjured hand on Prompto's knee underneath the table. "Hey." He'd abandoned his food now, turning his body just slightly to meet Prompto's eyes. "I meant what I said, you know. You're better than him. Do you think it would have been any less painful if you'd met him before now?"

At that, Prompto went silent for a moment, glancing at the table, before answering, "probably not." He glanced back up at Noctis, who was brushing his thumb over Prompto's knee. "Probably more painful, because I'd... you know, have been alone. I wouldn't have had you or the others to... to remind me that I'm okay," he half-smiled, taking another bite of his meal.

'Okay' didn't seem quite enough to describe what Prompto was, and Noctis decided to let him know exactly that. "Better than okay. _You're_ perfect. The most beautiful human being I've ever seen in my life." His thumb inched slightly higher on Prompto's leg now; brushing against the coarse fabric of his jeans.

Prompto's eyes were on him now, the tiniest smile finding its way back to his face as he shook his head bashfully. "I'm not perfect. But as long as I'm perfect for you, then that's the only perfect I ever need to be." He pressed his lips to Noctis' again, then smiled when the kiss broke. "Thank you, Hero. For always having my back. For telling me that I'm good. That I'm strong." After a pause, he added, "for finding me worth loving."

Worth loving. Noctis leaned a little closer, whispering against Prompto's ear. "You're more than worth loving," he murmured, sliding closer, edging Prompto toward the corner of the booth. "I think you're perfect, Prompto." His hand inched just slightly upward, away from Prompto's knee, drifting up to draw absent-minded patterns against the inside of his thigh. "You have the kindest heart of anyone I've ever met. No matter what happens, you always think of other people first. You're exactly what I needed in my life, exactly when I needed it," he muttered, his thumb finding the outline of Prompto's dick beneath his pants and tracing along it.

Against Noctis' ear, Prompto's breath hitched just slightly. "Noct, I..." His hips arched forward just slightly under the table, against Noctis' wandering hands.

Noctis kept talking as he allowed his whole hand to ghost along Prompto's length over his pants. "And your smile, the way you laugh, the twinkle in your eye when you think of something that excites you," he muttered, pulling away from Prompto's ear and meeting his eye instead. "Do you want me to stop?" The question was more just to be sure. If the look on Prompto's face was any indication, Noctis already had his answer.

"No!" Prompto gasped in a soft whisper. "N-no. Please."

That brought a grin to Noctis' face as he nodded his head in understanding. "Try to act natural, then," he suggested. They were in a relatively secluded booth, sure, but he knew that there were at least a couple of people who could see them from this angle. At the very least, Noctis was blocking Prompto from view, but it was still pretty exhilarating.

Prompto's attempt to act natural was very much _not_ wholehearted, if the way he lifted his hips into Noctis' hand was any indication, but Noctis couldn't be bothered to care at the moment. He glanced down at Prompto's pants, at the button-fly, and cursed his one usable hand. Still, rather than complain, he felt a tiny bit of mischief rise up as he ticked his eyes up to glance at Prompto. He leaned close, right up against Prompto's ear. "Unbutton your pants," he whispered.

The speed with which Prompto obeyed made Noctis laugh as he settled back into his seat, going back to acting naturally. Without wasting any time, once Prompto's pants were unbuttoned and open, Noctis lay his hand back against the fly of his boxers. Those, he unbuttoned himself, before reaching inside and experimentally sliding his fingers along Prompto's length. Just a feather-light ghost of a touch, which elicited a soft and shuddering breath from Prompto, who canted his hips forward, pressing himself a little further into Noctis' hand. He was urging; pleading without speaking.

Noctis answered the plea, loosely wrapping his hand around Prompto's dick and experimenting with a couple of slow, gentle tugs. When the gasping breath repeated itself, and Prompto's hand gripped the top of the booth behind Noctis' shoulder, Noctis couldn't help but grin.

He picked his pace up a little, but was surprised by an unfamiliar voice coming from behind him. The waitress, a woman around their age—Noctis thought that maybe he recognized her from one of his classes, but didn't care right then—appeared, flashing them a gentle smile. "Felt more comfortable on that side of the booth, hm?" she asked, completely unaware of what was going on beneath the table.

"Yeah," Noctis replied with a half-smile in her direction. He stopped his rhythm, instead opting to smooth his thumb along Prompto's length while he talked to the waitress. He felt Prompto moving behind him, grabbing hold of his fork with possibly a little too much force. "You know how it is."

She smiled a gentle smile. "I do," she answered, then turned her attention to Prompto. "Is your food alright?" Her hand motioned to his plate, still mostly full, and she met his eye.

Prompto turned his attention to her, and nodded once. "Yeah! Yeah, it's... it's fine," he answered. He was trying _so hard_ to keep his breath even, but after a particularly languid caress from Noctis, he lost his composure. "Ah...! Uh... I... I'm fine. Thanks. We've... we've just been talking is all. Distracted." He nodded a slightly-too-sharp motion, flashing an attempt at a smile at the waitress, but Noctis was embarrassingly pleased with himself when it came out as a lopsided half-smile.

The waitress was a little bit suspicious then, but she didn't ask. She arched an eyebrow at them, tilting her head to the side. "Do you guys want me to go and get you refills on your drinks and the dessert menu?" she asked them.

"That'd be nice, thanks," Noctis answered with a nod, both trying to rush her and not trying to make it obvious that he was trying to rush her. When he felt Prompto's hips twitch in an attempt to keep them from rocking forward, he couldn't help but let his smile fade into a bit of a smirk. He knew that motion. Or not so much the motion _itself_ , but what the motion was trying to cover up. Prompto always lost control of his hips when he was getting close. Subconsciously, even though the waitress wasn't gone yet, Noctis squeezed the rest of his hand a little harder around Prompto's dick, gliding his thumb a little slower along the sensitive flesh.

Only when the waitress excused herself, did the rest of Noctis' hand join his thumb. "Your napkin," he suggested in a whisper to Prompto.

With a nod, Prompto fumbled for the napkin on the table, then fumbled to open it and set it on his lap. It would probably be obvious to the staff later, especially since it was one of those cloth napkins that nice restaurants like this tended to use, but Noctis couldn't be bothered to care in the moment. And, it seemed, neither could Prompto. No one watching them now, so Prompto didn't hold back with pressing his hips into Noctis' hand. "C-close," he whispered, his hands white-knuckling the top of the seat behind Noctis' head.

"I know," Noctis whispered. "You know, I've been thinking a lot about the conversation we had in the hospital." His tone was still hushed, hoping not to drown out the gasping breaths that Prompto was trying to take.

He didn't get to finish that thought, though. At least, not quite yet. Prompto came with a gasp and a shudder running through his body. Most of his release hit the napkin, but Noctis felt a little bit of the sticky warmth as it ran its way down his hand. Prompto leaned his head against Noctis' shoulder as he tried to compose himself, gasping for breath that was coming shakily as Noctis allowed him to ride the waves of euphoria that coursed their way through his body. Noctis nudged Prompto's head from his shoulder with a gentle push, and captured his lips to silence any more heavy breaths or sounds that he may have made. 

When the kiss broke, Noctis grinned at the half-lidded look of contentment on his boyfriend's face. "Might need your help cleaning my hand," he half-joked.

Prompto nodded his head and grabbed the napkin, helping Noctis clean off. "So... I heard you saying something about the hospital," he started, folding the napkin with the mess on the inside and setting it off to the side, before moving to button his pants back up. His cheeks were still flushed pink, and he just barely had any semblance of steady breathing, but he was trying to act natural again. Like they hadn't just partaken in one of the hottest experiences Noctis had ever been involved in.

"I did," Noctis smiled softly, maneuvering around the table for a second to grab his coat.

The curious expression on Prompto's face made Noctis smirk. The waitress was on her way back now with their drinks, but Noctis stopped her with a single finger in the air as he reached into his pocket for the small silver box that the ring was in. "Can you scoot to the edge of the booth, Blondie?"

Awareness of the situation started to creep in around Prompto's features when he spotted the box in Noctis' hand. "Hero..." he whispered, sliding down the booth and sitting at the edge. "You bought the... n-now?" His tone was surprised, but not displeased. Quite the opposite, actually.

Noctis nodded. "I mean... I love you, Prompto. I love you so much that I can't imagine myself ever loving anyone else this much." He felt eyes around the room turning to them, and maybe this was a mistake, doing this in a public place in a town where so many people opposed to the idea that he and Prompto _could_ get married. But for once, Noctis didn't care. Not even a little bit. All that mattered in his world right now was making sure that Prompto was happy, and making sure that they were together for the rest of their lives. "Whether or not I knew it at the time, I loved you from the first time I saw you. It... it kinda felt like I, you know, found a part of me that didn't exist until then. I know I've said it before, but my heart knew something that my head didn't yet." Pausing, Noctis raked his teeth over his lip and ticked his head to the side in lieu of a shrug. "And I... you know... want to be with you forever."

Shakily, Noctis braced himself on the table, his mostly-healed ribs a little bit angry at him for the motion. But he didn't care. This was too important, and far, far too overdue to let a little pain stop him. He got onto two knees, then changed to just one, bringing the box to his chest and using his injured arm to open it. This wasn't as swift or as confident a motion as it had been in his imagination, but then again... what about him _was_ swift or confident? And it never mattered to Prompto.

As Noctis displayed the ring to Prompto, he glanced up to meet his eye. "P-Prompto Argentum... will you marry me?" Noctis asked, his voice just barely above a whisper. A couple of voices behind him expressed their judgment, but he easily tuned them out. They didn't matter, Prompto did.

Bright blue eyes shone with unshed tears—but this time, they weren't the type of tears he'd been shedding for the rest of the day, so it was okay—and he nodded his head. "Of course I will. I already told you I would, right?" he asked with a gentle smile, holding a hand out for the ring.

It wasn't perfect. Noctis wanted to be able to hold his hand while he spoke to him, but the sling on his arm wouldn't allow it. Still, even if it wasn't perfect, it was perfectly _them_. So, after using his injured hand to take the ring out of the box, he placed the box on the counter and transferred the hand that the ring was in, to his good one. Sliding the ring onto Prompto's finger, Noctis easily tuned out the sound of the mix of clapping and disapproval around the rest of the restaurant. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that he'd asked, and that Prompto had said _yes_.

They were engaged. They were getting married.

Prompto leaned down to capture Noctis' lips, one hand on his cheek and the other leaning down to help him get to his feet again. When the kiss broke, he whispered, "I love you. I love you so much, Noct..."

The second half of their meal was significantly better toned than the first. When the waitress came back, she congratulated them and told them that her manager heard about their trial, and that everything was on the house tonight as an engagement gift, which was an incredible surprise. Prompto and Noctis both thanked her, _and_ the manager, from the bottom of their hearts, and went about enjoying the rest of their date. Prompto didn't seem to be thinking about Verstael or the trial anymore; instead, he chattered excitedly about what he wanted for a wedding. He took a selfie of them, with him displaying the ring, sending it to all of their friends and informing them that 'I said yes.' The responses that poured in were all of varying degrees of excitement.

When they finished their meal, they walked out of the restaurant hand in hand. Prompto stopped them after they'd made it about five steps toward the car from the parking lot, quirking a little grin. "You know, Hero," he murmured, positioning his body in front of Noctis', then reaching a hand up to brush some dark hair from his eyes. "I owe you so much."

"You don't owe me anything, Blondie."

Prompto shook his head no, detangling his fingers from Noctis' and threading it through the belt loop of his pants. "No, I do," he answered, his other hand joining the first. He used his new position to tug Noctis' hips forward, so that they were flush against his. "I owe you. So much. I would never have been able to get through today without you. But you... you managed to take one of the worst mornings I've ever had, and turn it into the best night." He glanced down at his hand, at the slight silver glint of the ring. "The absolute best one," he added.

"I didn't do it so you'd owe me, Prompto. I did it because I love you," Noctis insisted. As if that wasn't obvious.

Much to his surprise, though, Prompto answered, "I know you do. And I still don't know how I got so lucky to _have_ you love me. But you do. You love me enough to _marry_ me. And I love you, too. That's why..." A tiny, mischievous glint flitted into his eyes. His fingers were still threaded into Noctis' pants, and he used the advantage of his position to start tugging Noctis toward the car a little bit faster. "Unlock the door," he purred in Noctis' ear, pinning Noctis to the back door of the car with his hips and placing light, open-mouthed kisses to Noctis' neck.

It didn't take much at _all_ to get Noctis worked up, honestly. Seeing Prompto so hot and bothered in the restaurant had done more than its fair share to get that started. But those kisses, and the way that Prompto's hips rocked against Noctis', rubbing the fabric of his boxers against his dick, was almost dizzying in how it stole the breath from his lungs. He fumbled for his keys in his pocket, making quick work of unlocking the back driver's side car door.

They climbed into the backseat, and Prompto tugged the door closed and pushed the lock with one finger. Without wasting another second, he turned his attention to Noctis now, pressing their lips together while he deftly opened Noctis' belt and pants. Once Prompto settled back into position, with one leg on either side of Noctis' thighs, he quickly leaned in and pressed their lips together again. One hand found its way into Noctis' hair, while the other found its way down between his legs, wrapped loosely around his dick. Noctis rocked his hips against Prompto's hands, the fact that they _weren't_ in the restaurant anymore allowing him to treat the situation with a little more abandon than Prompto had.

Prompto's hands were softer than they had any right to be, and the warmth and tension against his skin had him breathing shaky breaths into his boyfriend's—no, his _fiance's_ —ear when he pulled away to press open-mouthed kisses to Noctis' neck. "You look hot as hell like this, Hero," Prompto muttered into his ear. When Noctis' only response was a groaning sigh, Prompto grinned. "Sound hot, too," he added.

"Sh-shut up and kiss me," Noctis tried to sound suave, but holy _hell_ was this whole situation fucking hot. Traffic drove by on the road, and he was pretty sure he'd heard a couple people walking past them to get to their cars, but he really didn't care at all about any of that. To ensure that Prompto _did_ kiss him, he reached up and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him close and crashing their lips together.

However, Prompto took that as a verbal cue to increase pressure and speed of his attentions to Noctis' dick. His hips rocked forward again, and he cried out against Prompto's lips, warning as well as he could that much more of _that_ would have him over the edge. Prompto, it seemed, heard the warning loud and clear, because he didn't slow down at _all_. Just a _little_ more pressure, and a few more strokes, and Noctis couldn't help but let go. Prompto kissed him harder, silencing any noises that he may have made, and smoothed his clean hand through Noctis' hair.

The kiss broke, and Noctis opened his eyes, watching as Prompto cleaned his hand on a couple of napkins that sat in the back seat of Noctis' car. Noctis looked at Prompto, just half-smiling and not speaking right away. Sure, there was still euphoria working its way through his body, but even _without_ that, the pure and complete _happiness_ that he felt right then was like nothing he'd ever felt before in his life.

Prompto met his eyes, and they shared a moment of wordless communication, smiling lovingly at one another. They'd done it. They'd made it through everything that Ardyn had thrown at them, seen the other side of the trial, and now they were engaged. Noctis had never believed that happiness like this was really possible, but it was. And it was his. And it would be forever.


	34. Thinking Out Loud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
> _when my hair's all but gone and my memory fades,_  
>  _and the crowds don't remember my name;_  
>  _when my hands don't play the strings the same way,_  
>  _i know you will still love me the same._  
> [thinking out loud](https://open.spotify.com/track/1Slwb6dOYkBlWal1PGtnNg) \- ed sheeran

The weather was warm on the day Gladio and Ignis got married. It was the first truly warm day of the season. Each day until then had kind of been that _almost_ warm—still cold enough to need hoodies or light coats, but not so cold as to need to bundle up—but now it was actually t-shirt weather. It honestly made walking around in his suit after Ignis and Gladio's wedding all the more difficult. He'd discarded the coat, hung it on the back of his chair and loosened his tie so that it hung open. The top button of his shirt was undone, and Iris had remarked in passing that he looked like he'd had a long day at some imaginary office.

There had been some odd non-conflict before the ceremony, where Gladio—who, by sheer persuasion from Ignis, had actually encouraged a _reconciliation_ between the two stubborn Amicitia men—had insisted that no one talk to Noctis' dad or Uncle Clarus until they got over themselves and admitted that they still loved each other. It was weird, but before the wedding, after what had initially been a surprisingly amicable conversation, Gladio and Clarus had come to some sort of peaceful understanding. That was, until Gladio suggested that Clarus "pull your head out of your ass and tell Regis that you love him."

Clarus' refusal and denial of truth in that statement had earned him nothing but an arrangement between all six of the 'kids' to give both men the silent treatment until they got over themselves.

Noctis had loved every second of the wedding. Being Ignis' best man was an honor; standing there, beside his two lifelong best friends as they pledged their undying love to one another. Every now and again, as they'd recited their vows or when Cid was talking, Noctis' eyes would find Prompto's in the crowd. His fiance was having the time of his life, both enjoying the ceremony for what it was and snapping so many pictures that he'd had to change his film twice already and upload all of the extras into his laptop. He'd offered to take the photos for free, and turned Ignis and Gladio down when they'd insisted that they pay him. An unsurprising gesture, but one that just reminded Noctis exactly how much and exactly _why_ he loved Prompto. He was thoughtful and selfless, and loved doing things for the people he cared about.

Over the course of the ceremony, Noctis had taken note of little things here and there; things that he wanted to do the same and things that he wanted to do differently for their _own_ ceremony. Prompto was always a little bit nervous when it came to talking about his own desires for the wedding. Iris had mentioned in passing that she'd gotten him to open up a little bit, that he actually wanted the old traditional wedding. A hall full of everyone they knew and loved; all of their friends and family. A white tux for him and a black one for Noctis. Blue and green as the off colors for the decor. Flowers and streamers everywhere, as well as a display of all of the pictures that Prompto had taken of them.

Prompto had described an elaborate fantasy to her, but sworn her to secrecy because, _"I don't want to be a burden. I could never afford it, and I don't expect Noctis to ask his dad for something elaborate like that."_

The only things that Prompto had shared with Noctis were low-budget things. That they could have their ceremony on the quad, where they'd met, and that maybe they could clean the garage below the apartment and have a small get-together there. Everything Prompto talked about was for a budget. For simplicity and cheapness. He deserved better than that, and while Noctis understood why he felt like it mattered, it didn't. Regis had told him, in no uncertain terms, that they could get married wherever they wanted. That Noctis and Prompto's happiness was more important than any money.

It was okay. He'd make Prompto understand.

Just as soon as the thought of his boyfriend entered his mind, he felt the familiar feeling of a warm, gentle hand sliding across his stomach. He turned his head, smiling when he came face to face with _Prompto's_ smile. "I was just thinking about you," he told his fiance, lifting his hand and moving a tuft of soft blond hair from his eyes. "Where'd you get off to?"

"Oh," Prompto half-smiled, leaning in and pressing a feather soft kiss to the scar on Noctis' jaw. "Iris snagged my attention. She wanted me to get the first couple of shots of the newlyweds. I don't think I've ever seen Iggy this happy before. I mean, I've seen him happy. That first game night comes to mind, where he was smiling his head off. But this was different, you know?" he asked, sliding his body in front of Noctis and smiling.

Noctis nodded his agreement. "I know, right?" he asked. "I mean, after the past few months, those two _really_ deserve it. I was worried, kinda, that Specs would never be this happy again. Leave it to Gladio, though." Just like, in his case, he could usually leave it to Prompto.

Prompto tugged Noctis by the belt loops on his pants, over to sit on a couple of the chairs that the few wedding spectators had been sitting in. "You know," he started, "I honestly can't wait until this is us?" He gestured around them at all of the wedding decorations. "When we're standing there, in front of everyone, telling each other how much we love each other..."

"Telling the world how much we love each other," Noctis agreed, capturing Prompto's hand in his uninjured one and lacing their fingers together.

Bright blue eyes glanced around. "Iris did really well with the decorations here. The silver, black, and white really go well together. I wonder if we could talk her into decorating the quad for us. Blue flowers, the same shade of blue as your eyes." He turned to glance at Noctis with a sheepish smile. "And green streamers. We could put an arch on the spot where we met. Some kind of lattice or-"

Noctis cut him off with a soft smile and shook his head. " _Or_ ," he suggested, "we could rent out the event hall at Wiz's ranch. He told us we were welcome back there whenever we wanted to go, remember? With how much the birds loved you. The event hall is huge. We could invite _anyone_ we wanted to. Think about it." Smiling softly, he shrugged his head to the side. "We could take those two chocobos, Sapphire and Vert, and have them pull us away in a carriage when we're finished." That sounded like something Prompto would love.

And the way his eyes gleamed for a split-second made Noctis realize that he was right. Prompto loved it. He did. But just as quickly as the sparkle appeared in his eyes, he forced it away. "I... I told you," he commented sheepishly, bringing the gentle smile back to his face, "you don't have to make such a fuss. I'm happy with anything, Hero. It's our day, you know? We-"

" _Our_ day," Noctis insisted. "And money isn't an object, Prompto. My dad told me that he was completely fine with having the ceremony _wherever_ you want to have it. That he wants our day to be perfect for us and is more than happy to pay whatever price he has to pay just to ensure that it's exactly what we want."

A flood of embarrassment pinkened Prompto's cheeks, and he shook his head. "I just don't want to seem like-"

Noctis detangled his fingers from Prompto's and raised his hand, pressing one finger to Prompto's lips to silence him. "You don't seem like anything. Except for someone who deserves a perfect wedding. A perfect day just for us." The thought made Noctis' eyes twinkle, too, and he traced the outline of Prompto's jaw with his fingertip again. "Think about it. A wedding at the chocobo ranch. Having Vert and Sapphire carry us away from the ceremony and to the car, to drive to our honeymoon. Doesn't that sound amazing?" he asked.

Prompto went quiet, letting his eyes flutter closed as he pictured it in his mind. Slowly, a gentle smile crossed his face, and that smile only grew when he spoke again. "Where's our honeymoon going to be?" he asked.

"Part of me wants to say that it doesn't matter, because we're never going to leave the bedroom," Noctis commented, half-teasing. He leaned in close, whispering in Prompto's ear. "But the rest of me thinks it should be somewhere special. Galdin Quay comes to mind. We can stay at the hotel there, or we can rent out one of those little beach cabins and have our own little private place for just us, where we can stand on the back porch and watch the sunset."

Smiling softly, Prompto raked his teeth over his lip. "You paint a nice picture, Hero," he admitted.

It _was_ a nice picture. A perfect picture. Because it was _their_ picture. Noctis nodded his head. "My dad said he'd do whatever we wanted, Blondie," he pointed out. "You want that ranch and that beach honeymoon? It's ours. You need to realize that you're family, Prompto. My dad wants us to be happy, and he wants the day to be exactly the way we want it."

"I'm still not sure what I did to deserve you most days," Prompto admitted in a soft voice. "But I'm not going to complain. Even if I _don't_ completely deserve you-"

Noctis interjected, "which you do," with a sage nod.

Chuckling, Prompto shrugged. "Whatever I did, I'll do it a hundred more times. A hundred _million_ more times." He reached up to sweep some of Noctis' bangs from his face, then bit his lip again. "Alright. Okay. We can have the wedding at the chocobo ranch. And we can take our honeymoon at the beach." The words were saying that they _could_ , but Prompto's eyes were saying that he _wanted_ to. Noctis knew that he'd wanted to all along, though.

Leaning over, Noctis feathered a gentle kiss to Prompto's cheeks and with his whole face. "Only if you admit it's what you want," he teased with a little grin. It would happen regardless, whether Prompto admitted it or not. But Noctis still wanted to hear the words come from his mouth.

Prompto glanced at him for a couple of seconds, a tiny lopsided smile crossing his face. "Manipulative," he teased, pressing his lips to Noctis' cheek, too. After a beat, though, Prompto nodded his head. "Yeah. It's what I want. I had this fantasy. You know, when we first started getting serious? Maybe a little before that. When I first realized that I loved you-" his smile went a little bashful- "of the two of us standing in front of this room full of friends and family. Strangers, even. Anyone who wanted to be there. A whole bunch of pictures of us and our family, blown up and on the walls..."

"We can use the ones from your portfolio," Noctis suggested with a nod and a smile. "A reception with a DJ." Except for the one moment when Noctis sang to him—You Are My Sunshine. That particular moment was to stay a surprise for now, though. Until the big day. Whenever that was.

As if reading his thoughts, Prompto smoothed his fingers through Noctis' hair and asked, "when do you want to do it? Get married, I mean?"

They'd truly only been engaged for a day, but that didn't change the fact that Noctis' immediate answer was, "right now?" After sharing a smirk with Prompto, though, he shook his head and said, "I don't know, though. I mean, part of me says that _logically_ , we should wait and stay engaged for a little while. But the rest of me loves you so much that I don't want to wait even a day. That right now isn't even a joke." He quirked an embarrassed smile, then brushed his fingers on his uninjured hand across Prompto's cheek.

Prompto laughed a soft note in response and nodded his head. "I know what you mean," he agreed. "What if we meet in the middle? Talk to your dad, tell him where we want it to happen, and say that there's no such thing as too soon? Whenever Wiz has the hall ready, we're ready. Because... because I _am_ ready." His cheeks turned pink. "Do you think it's crazy that we're this ready?"

Was it? Maybe a little bit. It was like something out of a cheesy romantic movie. "Maybe a little," Noctis confessed with a bit of a chuckle, but then he shrugged his head to the side. "But crazy is good. Crazy is really good. After a life full of sane, I'm ready for crazy." The words sounded embarrassingly cliché coming from his own lips, but the grin that Prompto gave him suggested that maybe _he_ was ready for crazy, too.

"I mean, you know I'm always down for crazy, Hero." Prompto winked.

Noctis smirked a lopsided smirk and nodded his head. "I do." Those words, so small and inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, made _both_ of them smile, given the context of their conversation. Oh, he did. He _definitely_ did. "Guess this means we have to break the silent treatment, though. Wonder if Gladio will forgive us."

As they walked to where they'd last seen Noctis' father, they talked more about wedding plans. Ignis had been a rock for Noctis through their whole relationship, guiding him every step of the way and encouraging him with the best advice. He would be Noctis' best man. Prompto's choice was unsurprising, too. Iris would be his maid of honor. There was a moment of sadness, however, when Prompto mentioned that Regis should walk Noctis down the aisle. Much as Noctis would like that, now that he and his father were on the same page, with Prompto's birth father's past being investigated, and with how he'd treated Prompto... that didn't seem fair.

"Unless!" Noctis gasped, stopping in his tracks and grabbing hold of Prompto's arm so that he was turning to look at Noctis again, "maybe Uncle Clarus will do it? I mean, he really likes you. My dad said that he was gushing about how brave you are! And Gladio says he mentioned wishing that when he was our age, that he'd been as brave as you are. So-"

Prompto's eyes were wide. "Do you think Gladio would be mad? I mean, that's his dad, you know? They're barely talking and-"

Shrugging, Noctis mused, "so, we ask him first. But I doubt he'll care. Does Gladio strike you as the type who'd want his dad to walk him down the aisle to _begin_ with? I don't think he'll care, Blondie. You're his family too, you know?" He pressed a kiss to Prompto's hand, just below his engagement ring, and half-smiled.

"Asking the son for permission to ask the dad to walk me down the aisle at my wedding. This feels like it's getting close to creepy territory," Prompto joked with an embarrassed little chuckle. "But I do like Clarus. And I think he's okay with me. Maybe that wouldn't be so bad." He raked his teeth over his lip and shrugged his head to the side.

Noctis nodded his head, as they continued the hunt for Noctis' dad and Clarus. Everyone else was in view. Iris and Aranea chatted as they ate a couple of chocolate pastries that Iris had helped Ignis make. Ignis and Gladio stood with Weskham and Cor, thanking them once again for ensuring that Ardyn went to jail. All of the other guests chatted in small groups, but Noctis' dad and Clarus were nowhere to be seen. The edge of the line of refreshment tables stopped before a small doorway that jutted from the roof, and Noctis' mind started working. It was entirely possible that they'd gone inside Archean Hall to take a look around, Noctis figured. So, he and Prompto decided to check inside.

Archean Hall was one of the prettier buildings on campus. It was one of the places that architecture students usually used for their classwork, studying the intricacies and trying to draw similar designs. There were paintings and photos on the wall, as well as plaques from donors. Now that Noctis thought of it, he was fairly certain that his grandfather's plaque was here somewhere. Around the first floor of the library, maybe. "I think I know where they are."

With his hand in his fiance's, they walked through the empty corridors of Archean Hall, until they came to the library. When they finally reached the library, Noctis moved to push the door open. Until, that was, Prompto squeezed and tugged on his arm. When Noctis glanced at Prompto, he saw a stunned expression in those bright blue eyes, and followed the gaze through the windowed walls of the Archean Hall library.

His grandfather's plaque was there, alright. But that wasn't as surprising as what was beneath it. Uncle Clarus stood in front of Noctis' dad—very close. Closer than Noctis had ever seen them before, and he'd certainly seen them close—one hand reaching up and pushing a few strands of graying hair from Regis' eyes. Neither of them seemed to have any awareness of the fact that Prompto and Noctis were right on the other side of the door, and could see it all take place. His dad was... _nervous_? He looked _really_ nervous, actually... but he was smiling at the same time. Noctis knew that feeling all too well. His dad spoke in a hushed whisper—Noctis both did and didn't want to know what was said—and then... it happened. His father closed the short distance between himself and Clarus, and pressed an eager kiss to Clarus' lips.

Naturally, that was when Noctis looked away. Because as happy as he was for his dad, he did _not_ want to see that. Prompto, though, still looked, smiling with his whole face. "Noct, they're..."

While he didn't want to look, that didn't mean that Noctis wasn't _overjoyed_ that his dad was finally done being a stubborn idiot. "I know! Holy shit, Prompto. We've... we've gotta go tell Iris and the others." Talking about their wedding plans could wait a little while longer. A moment that had been more than twenty years in the making did _not_ need interrupting right now.

"You think it was the silent treatment?" Prompto asked as they bounded back up the stairs to get back to the wedding. "Or do you think they were just so happy because of the lovey atmosphere of Gladio and Iggy's wedding that they just couldn't pretend they didn't love each other anymore?"

Noctis shrugged. "I don't know, but I honestly don't care, either. I mean," he chuckled softly. "As much time as I spent living my life for someone else, it's worse for my dad, y'know? Because he didn't do what we did. He didn't stand up to his dad and pushed himself back into a corner again. Let go of the person he loved." To accentuate his point, he squeezed Prompto's hand a little bit tighter. "And while he enjoys his job now, he didn't always. Who knows how much happier he could've been somewhere else? Whatever it was that convinced him... it gave him another chance to be happy. So, I'm glad for it."

Prompto smiled, too. "My Hero, the hopeless romantic and the best person in the world," he joked.

Noctis watched as Prompto waved the others down, and when they arrived, he eagerly regaled the tale of what they'd seen in the library to all of their friends' eager eyes and ears. Iris was _ecstatic_ at the news, and Aranea had to physically hold her back from running down to the library to hug them both. As Noctis cast his eyes around the room, he felt a little smile quirk his lips up. It had been a hard school year. It had been a _really_ hard school year, for more reasons than it had any right to. But their family, their friends, were all okay, and the people who hurt them were being punished. No matter what happened from here on out, everything was going to be fine. Better than fine; everything was going to be amazing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU GUYYYYYS. WE'RE ALMOST AT THE END AND I DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS.
> 
> Also, for more information about the Claregis Situation, don't forget to keep an eye on CitV's companion piece, To Close the Year, link below! :D She'll be adding stuff when she gets the time!


	35. Cactus in the Valley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
> _so, the storm finally found me and left me in the dark,_  
>  _in the cloud around me, i don't know where you are._  
>  _if this whole world goes up in arms, all i can do is stand;_  
>  _and i won't fight for anyone until you move my hand..._  
>  _and wipe the mark of madness from my face,_  
>  _show me that your love will never change._  
>  _if my yesterday is a disgrace, tell me that you still recall my name._  
> [cactus in the valley](https://open.spotify.com/track/16ecK8mxh619XrO6EcnvMY) \- lights [ [full lyrics](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/lights/cactusinthevalley.html) ]

The hall looked better than Noctis could have ever imagined. It was decorated _exactly_ as they'd discussed, but somehow, being here and seeing it all in front of his eyes was enough to shove him through a wall of overwhelming emotion. Good emotion. A year ago— _months_ ago, even—he never would have imagined that he'd be here, head over heels in love and ready to get married. A year ago, he never would have imagined that he'd be marrying a _guy_. He never would have imagined falling head over heels in love with Prompto in a whirlwind so fast that it still took him by surprise sometimes. He never would have imagined being _happy_.

But here he was, in love, happy... about to get married. _Married_. Today. They were getting _married_ and by the end of the day, Prompto Argentum would be Prompto Lucis Caelum.

The hot July morning sun beat down on him as he looked in on where, just hours from now, he and Prompto would be standing in front of all of their friends and family and vowing to love each other forever. He'd heard of people having moments like this and getting cold feet. Suddenly feeling scared and wanting to run the other way, into the night and never look back. There was _absolutely no hint_ of that. Honestly, he wished that he could make time move _faster_ so that he could see Prompto again.

When Prompto had said that he was traditional, he hadn't been kidding. The night before the wedding, he'd gone to stay with Luna and Nyx, and while Noctis understood the tradition of it all, it was also weird to sleep alone. He hadn't _had_ to sleep alone in months. Between that and the fact that it was the night before his wedding and he was _excited_ , Noctis hadn't been able to sleep at all. Okay, that was a lie. He'd slept. He just hadn't slept as well as he _usually_ did. Normally, that would have him dragging his feet around wherever he had to go that day... but today was a special exception.

Because today... he was getting married. No matter how many times he thought it or said it, he didn't get tired of it. He was getting married. He and Prompto were getting married. "Prompto Lucis Caelum..." Noctis murmured under his breath as he glanced at the picture of them that Prompto had chosen to use as their engagement photo.

Most people didn't have the benefit of marrying a photographer, so they had to pay for display shots that weren't even as close to as good as this. But Prompto had actually set his camera up on his tripod and gotten a picture of them in the spot they'd met. Noctis stood with his arms around Prompto's waist, peppering a feather light and chaste kiss to his neck, and Prompto leaned back against Noctis' chest with a smile so genuine, so _real_ , on his face that even on the glossy page, it took Noctis completely off guard. He smoothed his fingers along the edge of the photo, his lips quirking up even higher as he turned to see Weskham and Ignis talking with the caterers about _exactly_ how Noctis and Prompto wanted their dinner served.

Ignis was doing a lot better. It came as a surprise to absolutely _no_ one when, a couple of months ago, he'd picked up and started back in the kitchen again. Well, okay, that wasn't exactly true either. When Noctis came home from his marketing final in early May and saw Ignis standing over the stove with an _overwhelmingly_ amazing smell filling the apartment, he was definitely surprised. Not that Ignis was cooking again, but that it smelled just as good—no, _better_ , actually—than his cooking had before. There were hundreds of cliches about how other senses were heightened by being blind. Ignis, while only partially blind, seemed to be the proof of that.

Married life was working really, really well for Ignis and Gladio, too. The fact that none of the couples—married, engaged, or dating—were in any sort of rush to get their own apartment or house, was equal parts surprising and not surprising in the slightest. They really _were_ a family. And for now, until Noctis made good on his promise to ensure that Prompto had his future where they all lived next door to each other, Noctis was perfectly content to live _with_ his family and their energetic little kittens. At least until they could put together Prompto's fantasy of adjacent houses near the ranch.

On the other side of the parking lot, he spotted Gladio and Clarus, helping Iris put together the outdoor reception area. There was a large section of grass reserved for their dance floor, tables and chairs, and a large line of fireworks to be set off as soon as the sun went down. Prompto had put Iris in charge of his camera for the evening, "barring selfies," and had agreed to just enjoy himself. Seeing Gladio and Clarus working together was always good. Actually, since their reconciliation, they'd actually managed to grow pretty close. There was naturally still some bitterness there, but every day that went by without a fight, they became closer and closer. Ignis, too, was welcomed into that family as a son. He tried to pretend that he didn't, but every time Clarus referred to Ignis as a son, Gladio showed a swell of emotion. It was good, that Gladio finally had the family he deserved.

A lot of this attitude change, at least on Clarus' part, Noctis attributed to the fact that—even after so many years—he and Noctis' dad had picked their relationship like they'd never broken each other's hearts. Noctis was surprised, but at the same time, he wasn't. Lately, there had been talks—mostly from Noctis, Prompto, and Iris—about the possibility of them getting married. It was taking work, but Noctis could tell that Clarus' resolve was waning a little bit. If only because he really _did_ want to marry Noctis' dad, deep down. Both of them were being a little bit stubborn about it, which was fine. After so long spent apart, it only made sense that there would be a couple of walls to break down.

When Noctis turned back toward the door, he spotted his dad in his periphery with a proud smile on his face, and stopped moving. Proud... but also just barely concealing a typhoon of emotion. As soon as he arrived and before any words were exchanged, he felt his dad reach forward and yank him forward into a tight hug.

"Must be an important day, if it manages to get my son out of bed before noon on a Saturday," Regis commented, putting his hand on the back of Noctis' head and squeezing him a little bit tighter.

Noctis couldn't help but chuckle a little bit as he raised his arms to hug his dad tightly. "Kind of," he agreed. "Kind of really important. Hey dad." He leaned his head against his dad's shoulder and hugged him tightly. Some days, the fact that he and his dad could actually talk like this was still kind of surreal.

Regis pulled back from the hug and put both hands on Noctis' face. "I'm so proud of you, my son." He reached down and straightened the lapels of Noctis' coat, evening his blue pocket square and straightening the blue rose that he had pinned to his vest. "How are you feeling? Anxious?"

Was he anxious? Noctis went quiet for a moment, considering this. "I don't think I'm anxious. Nervous, definitely. Wanting to do this. Ready." He bit his lip, glancing up at his dad. "Like... really ready. Ready to start really giving Prompto the life he deserves." Meeting his dad's eyes, he shrugged a shoulder.

With an arm around his shoulders, Regis escorted Noctis into the wedding hall, waving as he spotted Cor and Cid across the room. He didn't move right away, though. "You know, when I imagined your wedding day, I must admit that I always imagined it quite differently. But Prompto... I don't think I have ever seen someone so head over heels in love as that boy is with you. Except for maybe the vice versa to that," he commented, smirking at Noctis.

"How are you feeling about today, dad?" Noctis asked.

Regis smiled fondly. "Proud. Unbelievably proud and happy that my son has found a life where he can be himself and be happy, without worrying about what anyone else thinks of him. Proud that you were strong enough to face everything that has happened to you. Proud that your husband-to-be was brave enough to come and make Clarus and I see the error in our ways, so that we were able to see our two sons get married. I'm just... very proud of you, Noctis." He pushed some of Noctis' hair from his face and ruffled it.

"Dad!" Noctis huffed and pushed his hair back into place. Once he felt like maybe it was in the right place, he turned to his dad and spoke up again. "But, uh... I'm proud of you, too."

Raising an eyebrow, his dad looked at him in question. "What's this now?" he asked.

Noctis shrugged. "You did a lot, too. You, um... you _listened_ to Prompto, when it might've been easier not to. And you also..." He glanced toward the window. "You also got over the past, you know? And you're with Uncle Clarus again. You guys have been even more inseparable since you got back together, dad." He reached out and put a hand on his dad's shoulder. "Plus you've... I mean we're-"

The smile on his dad's face was soft, and he pulled Noctis in for another hug. "We are," he agreed. "I love you, my son." The words were spoken quietly, but not in the shameful quietness that whispers _sometimes_ tended to have. It was just a shared moment between a dad and a son.

"Love you too, dad," Noctis responded with an honest smile.

The next couple of hours felt like they went painfully slow. He'd paced the hall a hundred times, it felt like. Twice, he'd had to divert his course when he thought he caught sight of a head of blond hair that looked very much like Prompto's. Once, Iris had stopped him at the end of a hall, refusing to let him walk that way because "Luna is trying to fix a rip in Prompto's tux and if you come down here and see him before it's time I will _kill you_ , do you understand?" Shortly thereafter, he went to spend the rest of his wait with Ignis and Gladio, who were coordinating some last minute decorations outside.

By the time noon rolled around and the ceremony started, nervousness finally settled in. Gladio—who was walking with Luna and standing on Prompto's side—was the first one to come out. Aranea and Nyx followed, and then came Iris and Ignis. Ignis stood behind Noctis and squeezed his shoulder supportively, likely noting the nervous fidgets that kept working their way through Noctis' hands. The music changed to a tuned down piano version of You Are My Sunshine, and that was how Noctis knew that Prompto was on his way. It wasn't like he was a bride in a fancy dress or anything. But as Clarus walked him down the aisle, and his eyes met Noctis' as he walked, Noctis couldn't help but think that he was way, way more beautiful than any bride had ever been or ever would be. His coat was the offset to Noctis'; white with a green tie, a green pocket square, and a green rose... and Noctis felt like his breath had been sucked from his lungs.

Prompto stood in front of him now, and Clarus stepped over to stand beside Noctis' dad, off to the side. That was the moment that Noctis realized exactly how real this was. Their eyes met, Prompto's shining with tears as he grabbed hold of Noctis' hands and brought one up to his lips to kiss. "You ready, Hero?" he asked in a murmured whisper, before Cid started speaking.

There was no other answer; Noctis just nodded and brushed Prompto's hair from his face. "I was ready the moment I saw you."

It was kind of funny, how little Noctis focused on the wedding platitudes as Cid spoke them. All of the 'dearly beloveds' and the announcing of their names, the asking who gives them away; all of the things that happened at every wedding. But then, Cid turned to Prompto and Noctis with a fond smile and said, "now unless I'm losin' my mind, I heard tell that these two boys prepared their own vows. Prompto?" he asked.

Prompto nodded and smiled. "Hero... what do I even say, you know? Before you knew of the me behind the smiles and the confidence, before you knew everything that I went through to become the me that I am, before _I_ knew _you_ , really... I looked at you and I felt this pulling in my heart. The kind of thing that you hear about in movies or on TV, but never think is real. I think back to the first time we met, on the quad outside of the Dean's office, and I walked away from that not understanding why I couldn't calm my heart down. Why I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day." He chuckled awkwardly, glancing down at the floor, and then back up at Noctis. "And then I spent the next however long wondering if I'd ever see you again. I did, thanks to Iris." He pointed over his shoulder, smiling at Iris, who smiled back and wiped some tears from her eyes.

"But when I did... I never thought I'd go from being alone, not really knowing anyone or trusting anyone with who I really am and where I came from, to this huge family. All of these friends. And you." Prompto reached up and brushed some hair from Noctis' face. "You, who I would do absolutely _anything_ in the world for. You, who I look at and just see... everything. You're my Hero. You're my person, Noct. And I'm _so_ proud to be standing here, becoming your husband today."

Before the ceremony, Noctis had vowed to try as hard as he could not to cry. But those words, that promise, was out the window now. The words Prompto had just spoken, and the way Prompto was looking at him right now... it was just too much. He felt the warm moisture rolling from the corners of his eyes before he realized what he was doing, but he managed to laugh a little bit before he started his own vows.

"I promised myself I wouldn't cry," he murmured. "But whatever. Listen, Blondie. Before I met you, I was..." He glanced an apologetic glance to his dad, then continued, "I was screaming inside. I had no idea who I was. I was living this half life. Walking around, doing what needed to be done, just... not happy." He chuckled awkwardly. "Then in comes this blond live wire, who... who _lives_ his life. Whose smile could light up a whole room and who looked at me, saw me screaming, and told me that he'd help me find me; find who I am underneath the screaming and the desperation."

Noctis placed his palm on Prompto's cheek and grinned as he spoke. "I've told you a hundred times. The day I met you, and the day Iris really introduced us, I feel like my heart knew something that my head didn't understand yet. From the day I met you, I don't think I ever could have been with anyone other than you. And ever since then... look at what we've done together. You found me." He pointed at his dad, "you got me and my dad understanding each other. We brought down the men who _made_ your life hell. I'm in love with you, Prompto. Head over heels, crazy, up over my head drowned in love with you. And there's literally nothing in the world I want more than to be married to you, for the rest of our lives." His face was red. He was so, _so_ bad with words, usually, but somehow he'd managed to get through that without stumbling too much.

And the hall erupted in soft chuckles when Prompto couldn't seem to resist leaning forward and kissing Noctis. Cid tapped Prompto on the shoulder and laughed softly. "That part's later, kid."

"Sorry," Prompto chuckled awkwardly. "Couldn't resist."

They exchanged rings—a subtle black band with knotting designs around it and an inscription on the inside 'Blondie and Hero'—and then Cid pronounced them married. Their kiss likely went on for a few seconds too long, if the couple of throat clears and hoot-and-hollers from the spectators were any indication. But Noctis didn't care. When the kiss broke, and he met Prompto's eyes with a smile covering his whole face, he whispered, "I love you, Prompto."

"I love you, too," Prompto answered, smiling through the tears streaming down his cheeks.

Cid announced them as Noctis and Prompto Lucis Caelum, and then the group moved outside to the reception. The reception was exactly as expected. Exciting. Fun. Everyone talked and laughed among themselves, and Noctis couldn't help but stare out across the sea of familiar faces, marveling at how far they'd come, just since the start of the school year. Ignis and Gladio sat off to the side, sharing a pastry. Iris and Aranea sat off to their left, talking in hushed tones to one another. He and Prompto sat together, sometimes talking to one another and sometimes chattering with whoever came up to talk to them at any given time.

Off to the side, Noctis saw the chocobo-drawn carriage, ready to carry them to where Noctis' car waited to take them to their honeymoon. Vert and Sapphire stood at the front of the carriage, plucking at some grass on the ground and having what seemed like a conversation in soft kweh sounds. That drew Noctis' lips up in a genuine smile.

Prompto looked at him inquisitively, before gathering an olive from his plate and popping it into his mouth. "Got that hundred yard stare, Hero," he murmured around his mouthful of food.

Chuckling, Noctis shrugged and picked his fork up, stabbing it into a piece of the roast that Ignis had cooked. "Just... we did it, Blondie. I mean..." He raised his left hand, wiggling his ring finger at Prompto, before taking the roast from his fork. "We're married. You're my husband."

Each word had Prompto's smile growing even more. "I am. And you're mine," he mused.

"Now all that's left is to get you that house on the ranch, give you the perfect future you envisioned. With chocobos and our friends living on either side of us. The white picket fence life." It probably sounded like Noctis was teasing him. Maybe he shouldn't have been so nonchalant about it, because he wasn't joking at all. Not even a little bit. Prompto's picture perfect future sounded perfect to him.

Prompto nodded his head eagerly. "Hope Laser and Zest can deal with all the hundred thousand cats we're gonna have in our backyard, though," he half-smiled, before setting his fork down and standing up. "C'mon."

"Where are we going?" Noctis asked, arching his eyebrow in confusion. But he stood all the same.

With a hand in his, Prompto tugged him toward the patch of grass that had been deemed their dance floor. "You're dancing with me. We haven't had our first dance yet and even though I'm pretty sure this isn't when it comes up on the schedule that Ignis and Iris put together, this is our wedding and I want to dance with my husband." He nodded a solid, secure nod.

Smirking, Noctis willingly followed behind Prompto to the dance floor. He still liked the sound of the word 'husband.' Ignis looked at him questioningly, and Noctis shrugged and chuckled. The song wasn't theirs, so Iris had to hurry over to the DJ and tell him to change it, but that was fine. When the song changed, Noctis grinned at Prompto, and they shared a laugh as the DJ hurried through his 'first dance' introduction.

"Think you threw him off, Blondie," Noctis murmured, wrapping his arm a little tighter around Prompto's waist and pulling him closer.

Prompto shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh well."

Noctis leaned in, stealing a kiss that was a little less than chaste for a public dance, but not caring in the slightest. Especially when Prompto's cheeks flushed bright pink when it broke. They didn't speak—they didn't have to—just swayed together and smiled, with their foreheads pressed close. From here on out, from this point on, it didn't matter what came their way. As long as Noctis had Prompto at his side, as long as he got to see that smiling face and those bright blue eyes for the rest of his life... Noctis could take on the whole entire world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO, two chapters in one day because I had this ending planned in my head since, like... chapter 28, and it came out way, way faster than I could've imagined. SURPRISE!
> 
> WOWOWOWOW YOU GUYS. We freaking _did_ it! It was 35 chapters of bumpy ride madness, and it is about 90000000 miles away from what I initially planned for the story, but we _freaking did it_. We made it to the end!
> 
> This is... far and away the longest fic I have ever written, and far and away the most _successful_. I have never gotten such a resoundingly positive response to anything I've written before. And for that, I would _very much_ like to thank anyone who read or commented or showed _any sort_ of love for this story in any way. This is going to sound cliché as hell, but I seriously wouldn't have been able to get through this without all of you guys cheering me on and telling me how much you appreciated and enjoyed what I was doing!
> 
> Special shout outs to those of you, you know who you are, who were sounding boards for my crazy ideas and helped out when I was banging my head against the wall. I did that a lot, and between reeling me back in and reminding me that 'IT'S OKAY, YOU'RE DOING FINE' I _definitely_ wouldn't've been able to do it without you guys.
> 
> If anyone is interested, I put together a Spotify playlist of the fic's soundtrack—which is really just composed of the chapter titles, but that's okay—and that's located [here](https://open.spotify.com/user/lastofleaves/playlist/75TqLrZQRtZp9jr48ER7uw)!
> 
> Thank you guys, once again, from the very bottom of my heart.
> 
> ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥,  
> heyjealousy

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [To Close the Year](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9338759) by [nicoleiacross](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicoleiacross/pseuds/nicoleiacross)




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